Tempest, Vol 2
by Mashtar
Summary: When they said a storm was coming, they looked to the skies. They didn't realize that they were the storm, and it brewed within their hearts. This is the story of Team Seven, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Isa Yamanaka, and their journeys on the path of greatness. Team Seven AU with OC, rewrite of original Tempest fic.
1. Chapter One: The New Team Seven

_"We hold on to an idea and we'll fight what we can`t see._  
 _We just hold on to an idea we'll keep going till we can heal."_

* * *

Dawn broke like a long, trembling sigh. It came slowly, pushing back the heavy veil of night until finally light flooded the sky. Even then, fog pooled in the streets and dew clung to flower petals. Morning Glory was strewn across the wall of the Yamanaka house, a tide of purple spilling over the stucco. There was a small window on the second floor, thrown open wide to welcome the cool dawn air. From inside came the faint sound of humming, the quiet voice of a girl lost in thought.

Isa Yamanaka was laying on the floor of her bedroom, flipping idly through a thick book. The writing was small, cramped, as if the author had taken care to fit as much information onto each page as they could. She seemed to pay it no mind, her eyes – clear and blue, great oceans in a frame of pale skin and blonde hair – skimmed the pages without thought. The flipping continued, a smooth, repetitive motion that spoke of habit, done more out of familiarity than anything else.

She laid in a pool of morning sunlight; it streamed in through the window, bathing the room in gold. The rumpled bed and cluttered desk were alight with a hazy glow, the shadows slowly lifting from within the closet and the bookshelf. On the desk, amid books and loose papers, was a pictureframe, two young girls smiling from within it. They were identical, Isa and her sister, twins in every sense of the word. Even now, they were separated only by a single wall, Ino sleeping peacefully in her own room.

There was still time before they had to be up, before the dawn stretched to their parent's bedroom and they too awoke. Isa had woken with the dawn for as long as she could remember, and like a morning songbird, she was always the first to greet the rest of her family when they woke. Today, her morning ritual was edged with anxiety. It gnawed at her, pricking incessantly at the back of her mind.

 _What if it all goes wrong? What if I don't get picked? What if I didn't even pass at all?_

The voice in her head was shrill, worry running it ragged. It was silly to worry, of course. She'd be placed in a team, just like everyone else. She'd passed, she knew that already. It was all just a simple walk down to the Academy for the team announcements, that was all. Nothing to worry about. Not even a little bit.

Her eyes were glassy, glazed over in thought as she tried to calm her nerves. It didn't help. Of course not; it never did. She waited, flipping pages as the minutes slipped by, until there was a muffled rustle of movement on the other side of the wall. She clambered to her feet, slipping out of her room. Padding down the stairs on quiet feet, she followed the sounds of her mother to the kitchen. Hanako Yamanaka was there, pulling a kettle of tea off of the stove. She was a beautiful woman, tall and lithe, as if she was made of air. There was a gentle nobility to her, dignified but effortlessly kind. She turned when Isa entered, smiling at her daughter.

"Good morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?" She asked, offering a cup of tea to Isa as she approached.

She took it, sipping carefully before replying. "I think so."

Hanako tucked Isa's bangs behind her ear, leaning down to plant a kiss on the crown of her head. "You still have time to join your father outside, if you'd like. It might help to stop the worrying."

Isa opened her mouth to retort, but her mother simply smiled knowingly and pushed her gently toward the garden door. It was already open, letting in the cool breeze that carried with it the light sweetness of flowers. She stepped out onto the porch with her tea in hand, looking out over the garden. Inoichi Yamanaka was sitting cross-legged in the wide stretch of grass before her, his eyes closed in meditation.

A smile lifted his lips and he opened his eyes, beckoning her over. "You haven't come down here to meditate with me in a long time," He said as she sat down beside him.

She leaned against him and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Were you afraid? Before you were assigned to your team?" She asked quietly, staring down into the clear gold of her tea.

He chuckled, the sound vibrating through his chest as she leaned against him. "Of course. No one's fearless, kiddo. Not even Ino, no matter how much she acts like it."

"But who am I going to be teamed up with? There's always an Ino-Shika-Cho team, what if I'm not part of it?"

"You'll do just fine no matter who you're teamed with," Her father said, confident as he smiled down at her. She gazed up at him, at his green eyes and blonde hair, so similar his daughter's. The Yamanaka clan was strong, it always had been. They were masters of powerful jutsus, dangerous even without the complement of the Nara and Akimichi clans.

She smiled back at him, still shaky and uncertain, but the anxiety had faded from the sharp curve of her shoulders. "You're right. Thanks, daddy." She sat up and looped her arms around his neck, hugging him warmly until he finally pushed her away.

"Better get ready to go, huh? Sounds like Ino's impatient." His smile turned impish at the pout on Isa's face. "Chin up, just have faith in yourself and you'll be alright."

They stood up and Isa lead the way back inside. Hanako was busily packing bentos, listening absently as Ino chattered. Ino glanced over as they stepped into the kitchen and her face split into a sunny smile.

"Are you ready, sis?" She asked, slinging an arm around Isa's shoulders and pulling her in close. "Aww, it's gonna be fun, don't make that sad face!"

Isa smiled despite herself, her sister's cheer infectious. "Are _you_ ready? What if you get stuck with Shikamaru for the rest of your life?"

Ino made an exaggerated expression of disgust, sticking her tongue out and shaking her head madly, long ponytail bouncing behind her. "Please, you can have Ino-Shika-Cho, I don't wanna be on a team with those losers forever! I'd rather get Sasuke anyway," She said, giggling and waggling her eyebrows at her sister.

"Sasuke? The Uchiha boy?" Inoichi asked, frowning slightly as he sipped his tea.

Ino turned to him. "Dad, please be nice to him, we could be married some day."

Inoichi met Isa's eyes and he grinned. "Okay, Ino, I'll be nice. I promise." He held a hand up in a mock salute. Ino narrowed her eyes at her father and pursed her lips.

With a huff, she apparently decided to trust her father's word and turned back to Isa. "Can we go now? Pleeeeeeease?" She drew the word out long, hanging off of her sister and smiling until Isa too broke into a smile.

"Okay, okay, let's go. Get off me, you crazy person." She wriggled out of Ino's grasp, laughing. "Bye, mom. Bye, dad. See you later!" She gave her both of her parents a hug before taking the bento Hanako had made, waving goodbye over her shoulder as Ino joined her.

Ino grabbed Isa's hand and skipped out of the front door, weaving along the wide cobblestone street. She was talking again, animated and bright, a creature of constant motion. Isa allowed herself to be tugged along, giggling at her sister's antics. The street that the Yamanaka's lived on was a quiet one, lined with tall, spreading trees. There was jasmine growing along fences and ivy trailed up walls and trees. Around them, everything was green. It was a peaceful morning, sunlight filtering through the canopy of trees overhead, the birdsong broken only by Ino's bright voice. Ahead, at the corner of the street, Shikamaru and Choji were waiting.

Isa waved at them, smiling brightly at their friends. Choji waved back, smiling around the bagel he was eating. He was a large boy, taller and broader than most of the Academy students their age, and his habit of eating constantly did little to help him fit in with his classmates. He had always been cheerfully unconcerned with it, though, munching his way through a shining result in the Academy graduation test. Shikamaru was beside him, leaning against a wall. He could have been asleep if not for the way he squinted into the sun as the girls approached.

"Took you long enough," He grumbled once they were close enough to hear. He was quiet, like Isa, but in a decidedly different way. "Let's get this over with."

"He's been in a bad mood all morning," Choji said, shrugging. "I think it's too early for him."

Shikamaru glowered as Ino jabbed him in the ribs. "Wake up, stupid! We're getting our team assignments today! It's exciting!"

He rolled his eyes at her, but pushed away from the wall, falling into step behind the other three. "It's a drag is what it is. I could be sleeping right now."

"You'd sleep through your entire life if you could," Isa pointed out, grinning at him. "At least you already know who you'll be teamed up with."

Choji nodded. "Yeah, we're all friends already. That makes it easier, doesn't it?"

"If we already know who's on our team then why even bother going to the announcement?" Shikamaru mumbled half-heartedly, grinning when Ino sighed loudly.

"You're so boring, Shikamaru! Be happy!" She said.

"I am happy. Can't you tell?" He deadpanned, face utterly expressionless.

Isa laughed. "She's going to kill you if you're put on a team together," She said to Shikamaru.

"You'll be dead before today is over," Choji agreed. "It'll be the record for fastest team murder ever."

Ino sniffed, tossing her long hair behind her as she lead the way to the Academy. "I won't murder him," She said, "I'll just tell Chika that he's in love with her." Chika, Ino and Isa's older cousin, occasionally worked at the Yamanaka Flower Shop, where they spent much of their time. Shikamaru had harbored a quiet crush on her since they'd been very young.

His eyebrows drew together in consternation, but besides that he remained expressionless. "Girls are too much trouble," He mumbled, gazing up at the sky with cheeks that were only very slightly pink. He was quiet for the rest of the walk and Isa fell into step beside him, a companionable silence between them.

The Academy wasn't far, a straight shot down the main street of Konoha. It was busy, even this early in the morning. Shops were beginning to open, the smell of cooking foods filtering out of restaurants as the owners opened the heavy shutters that protected their stores. They passed the Yamanaka Flower Shop, still dark inside, the door locked. Hanako often tended the shop, aided by her daughters or other members of the Yamanaka clan, and even now there were flowers sitting in the large front windows, waiting to catch the eye of passerby.

As they neared the Academy, the crowd began to fade. Here, there were ninja everywhere, passing on their way to their posts or leaving on assignments. It was quieter, but there was an undercurrent of excitement, a kind of promise of danger, that wasn't present elsewhere.

The Academy rose before them, a collection of tall, wide buildings surrounded by trees. It backed up against the face of a cliff, the faces of past Hokage carved into the stone far above.

"I never liked those," Isa said absently, looking up at the faces of Konoha's past leaders, "they all look so angry."

"I've never met the Third Hokage, but my dad says he's alright," Choji said.

"They just carved them like that to make them look intimidating to ninja from other villages," Ino stated, edging toward the Academy doors impatiently. "You know, we can talk all about the Hokage Monument after we get our team assignments, right? Let's go!"

"We're still ten minutes early, Iruka-sensei isn't going to give us our teams any faster just because we showed up early," Choji said. He looked dejected now that he'd finished his bagel, and he glanced around hopefully, as if a bagel vendor might appear from the shrubbery.

Isa took a deep breath, gazing at the Academy, the kanji for 'fire' stamped across the front of the building. Her fingers were tingling, nerves making her fidget restlessly. "Let's just go," She said. "I don't want to wait any more."

Ino nodded, reaching out and grabbing Isa's hand. She twined their fingers together and turned toward the Academy doors. They marched forward together, Choji and Shikamaru trailing along behind them. The doors swung open, and they walked the familiar hallways, turning into their classroom. Most of the class was already there, talking loudly and lounging in their seats. Ino lead the way up the row of desks, sliding into one near the back of the room. Isa joined her, slumping against the hard wooden seat. Shikamaru made to sit next to her, but was abruptly stopped when Sakura Haruno launched herself into the seat instead.

"Are you guys scared?" She asked by way of greeting. Shikamaru grumbled something under his breath and took a seat in the row behind them, promptly putting his head down on the desk and closing his eyes. Choji followed, knowing better than to get in the way of Ino, Isa, and Sakura when they were together.

"Nope," Ino said cheerfully. "Even if I don't end up with those two, how bad could it be?" She asked, jerking a thumb over her shoulder at Shikamaru and Choji.

Sakura ran a hand through her pink hair, shrugging. "I don't know, you could get stuck with someone awful?" She glanced at the door as it opened and Naruto Uzumaki strolled into the room, followed by Kiba Inuzuka. "Like them," Sakura said, rolling her eyes as they sat down near the front of the classroom.

"They're not that bad," Isa said, watching the two boys slouch in their seats. Both Naruto and Kiba were infamous troublemakers, though Kiba was generally more restrained about it. Naruto was wild, and even as he sat at the desk, his arms folded behind his head and a grin on his face, there was still an edge to him.

"Kiba's cute," Ino remarked, shrugging carelessly when Isa and Sakura gaped at her. "What? It's true! Geez, guys, I know Sasuke and I are meant to be but I can still look at other boys." She grinned cheekily at them.

Sakura scoffed. "You've never even spoken to Sasuke, you'll never end up with him."

Ino's eyes narrowed. "Neither have you. Besides, Sasuke will never like you, your forehead's too big." She shrugged matter-of-factly.

Isa ignored them, leaning forward and resting her arms against the top of the desk. The classroom was mostly full now, clamoring with the sound of many people talking at once. The door opened and the dark-haired Sasuke Uchiha walked in, followed by Iruka Umino. Immediately, the class quieted, the sounds of conversation dying as a tense kind of impatience settled over them. Iruka was a young man with a kind face, a thin scar stretched across his nose. He waved cheerfully at the class, standing behind the podium at the front of the room.

"I gotta say, I'm a little sad to see you all go," He said, grinning ruefully. The class tittered in response.

"We'll miss you too, Iruka-sensei!" Kiba yelled from the front of the room.

Iruka chuckled, shaking his head. "Alright, alright, I get it, you all just want to get your teams. Now, I could keep you here and make a big speech about how proud I am of you all, how far you've all come, how you'll always have a place here, but I guess I'll spare you." The class heaved a sigh of relief.

Iruka laughed again before straightening, brandishing a sheet of paper. "Let's get started, then, shall we?" He peered at the paper for a long moment. "Ryoichi, Yoshiko, and Ayumu, you're assigned to Team One with Hibiki Ito."

Ryoichi and Ayumu, two boys who'd been best friends for as long as Isa had known them high-fived triumphantly. Yoshiko, a small girl with large amber eyes, fiddled with her glasses and seemed to shrink in her seat as her name was called.

"How much you wanna bet they won't make it past their first year?" Ino muttered sidelong to Isa, watching the new team wave to each other.

"Yoshiko never even wanted to be a ninja," Isa murmured in reply. "I heard her say she wanted to work in her parent's bakery." She shrugged. "Too late now."

"Isamu, Kaito, and Riko, you're assigned to Team Two with Sumiko Ueda." Iruka said, slowly working his way down the list.

"Isamu's ninjutsu isn't very good, I don't know how he graduated," Isa remarked under her breath.

"Well, it's not exactly fair for you to judge them," Sakura said, just as quiet. "You two scored high in practically everything."

"So did you," Isa retorted. "It's not our fault we're the three smartest in the class. Besides Shika, but he doesn't count," She amended.

Shikamaru lifted his head from his arms and looked down at her. "I don't count, huh?"

She grinned at him. "You've never put effort into anything in your entire life." Ino giggled, turning to mouth the word "loser" at him. He rolled his eyes with a grin and settled his head back onto his arms.

Isa turned her gaze to the ceiling, counting the tiles that ran along the top of the room. Iruka's voice faded into the background, naming off new teams for what seemed like forever. The sun was buttery warm against her, lulling her into a hazy daydream state, the world before her eyes blurring and fading. Her nerves, so powerful before, were gone, forgotten in boredom. It felt like any other day of classes, until Iruka called her name.

"Isa," He said. She snapped to attention, and his eyes flicked up to meet hers, a barely perceptible pause before the next names followed. "Naruto, Sasuke, you're assigned to Team Seven with Kakashi Hatake."

She blinked. "What?"

It escaped her before she had time to think, an incredulous question, almost scathing. Iruka watched her, eyes that had always been soft were now sharp, evaluative. The rest of the class was still, holding a single breath of apprehension. Naruto was the first to speak up.

"You're telling me I'm on a team with this guy?" He asked, jerking a thumb at Sasuke, who was sitting several rows behind him. Sasuke glared at him, dark bangs obscuring his face.

"You're one to talk," He snapped. "It's not like I wanted to be put on a team with the stupidest person in the class."

"I passed the graduation test, didn't I? Can't be any stupider than you," Naruto snarled, grinning as Sasuke's expression darkened.

Isa glanced at Ino and found her twin watching her carefully, a thoughtful look in her eyes. "What do I do?" Isa asked, looking back at the two boys.

Ino's eyes flickered over them before returning to Isa. "Nothing. Not much you can do right now, anyway. I guess you can sort it out while you wait for your sensei to show up."

Isa sunk back into her seat, nodding slowly. Iruka waited a moment longer, frowning at Naruto until he sat down, before returning to the sheet. "Okay, Shino, Kiba, and Hinata, you're assigned to Team Eight with Kurenai Yuhi."

Kiba's cheerful whoop barely registered. The fact that Isa was sandwiched between Ino and Sakura had never been more noticeable, their presences solid walls of ice on either side. Ino didn't seem to be angry, at least not very much, Isa thought. Ino could be petty sometimes, yes, and she wouldn't be happy that Isa was going to spend so much time with Sasuke, but Isa knew her sister well enough to know she'd find the advantage in any situation. Sakura was quiet, chewing on her bottom lip in thought. She didn't seem to be paying any mind to Isa, for which she was infinitely grateful. But she was just as obsessed with Sasuke as Ino was, and just as voracious about it.

"Itsuki, Kouta, Sakura, you're assigned to Team Nine with Ayume Yamada."

Sakura's head jerked up, mouth parted in surprise. "Oh. Uh, okay," She said, waving half-heartedly at her new teammates. She turned to Isa. "I don't think I've ever spoken to them in my entire life," She whispered.

"That makes two of us," Isa replied. "I've never talked to Naruto or Sasuke before."

"Maybe it won't be so bad?" Sakura offered somewhat lamely, grimacing at Isa's skeptical look.

"Maybe," Isa said. She turned to Ino, who was watching Iruka intently. "Only three left now."

Iruka had indeed reached the end of the list. "Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji, you're assigned to Team Ten with Asuma Sarutobi." Ino nodded, the gesture bearing a strange sort of finality. Iruka placed the paper on the podium and surveyed the class with a smile, only a little bittersweet.

"That's it, then, we're all done," He said. "Just remember, you've all gotten farther than most hopefuls ever get. Don't forget how much you've already accomplished. Now, your new sensei's will be here to collect you all soon. After that, your training is up to them. So if you show up here tomorrow, you're probably in the wrong place." He grinned before raising a hand in farewell. "Good luck, all of you."

A chorus of goodbyes followed him out the door, and then an uncertain silence settled over the room. "So, uh, what now?" Kouta Oshiro, one of Sakura's new teammates, asked. He was a short boy, with a shock of auburn hair and light gold-brown eyes. Sakura was watching him, chewing on her lip again.

"He literally just told us to wait here," Ino said, lifting an eyebrow at the boy, who flushed slightly under her gaze.

"Yeah, but like, do we sit together in our teams or what?" He spluttered, looking to his friends for support.

"I think we're okay," Sakura said, shooting a sympathetic smile at her teammate. "If he wanted us to sit with our teams, he probably would have told us."

Kouta's eyes moved between Ino and Sakura, but he nodded. "Yeah, okay. Cool." He returned Sakura's smile and turned back to his friends. The din of conversation rose once more, falling only when the classroom door opened. A pretty brown-haired woman stood in the doorway; she was tall, clad in a sleeveless haori, her hair curly, tumbling out of the bun she'd wrestled it into. She smiled brightly at the class and waved, leaning further into the room.

"I'm Ayume Yamada, I'm here to pick up Team Nine?"

Sakura raised her hand slowly. "I'm on Team Nine."

Ayume looked at her, green eyes sizing her up, her smile never wavering. "Well, come on down, then. What's your name?"

Sakura stood, hesitantly walking to the front of the room. "I'm Sakura Haruno," She said, bowing slightly.

Ayume straightened up, offering her hand to Sakura. "Nice to meet you, Sakura!"

Sakura took her hand and shook it, the beginning of a smile creeping across her face. She turned, waving Kouta and Itsuki forward. They joined her after a moment, and Ayume shuffled them out the door, her enthusiastic voice audible even after the door had closed behind them.

Other teams began filtering out, too, their sensei's appearing to guide their new students away with varying degrees of excitement. Asuma Sarutobi had hopped into the room through a window, a cigarette dangling between his teeth. He'd flashed a grin at the wide-eyed genin before him, winking conspiratorially as he stamped out the cigarette on the windowsill.

"Team Ten?" He asked, scanning the room for signs of recognition. "I'm in the right room, right? It'd probably help if I'd used the door, huh?" He scratched at the back of his head sheepishly, laughing.

Ino was surveying him with slight disbelief. " _This_ is the Hokage's son?" She whispered, looking to Isa for confirmation.

She just shrugged. "I guess? He seems nice."

Ino snorted quietly. "Seems like a bit of a joke to me." She shrugged and stood up, planting her hands on her hips. "I'm Ino Yamanaka, I'm in Team Ten."

Asuma nodded, grin widening lazily. "Yamanaka, huh? Guess I'm getting a Nara and an Akimichi, too?" Choji and Shikamaru – Shikamaru rather reluctantly – stood up at that. Asuma nodded again, a pleased glint in his dark eyes. "Let's head out, then, team. We've got all sorts of training to do."

Shikamaru followed Ino and Choji down to the front of the room, a mumbled "noooo" trailing behind him. They followed Asuma back out the window and vanished, leaving Isa alone. Most of the other teams had already been claimed, and the number of genin continued to dwindle until it was only Naruto, Sasuke, and Isa left.

"Do you think our sensei forgot about us?" Isa asked. She was sitting on top of a desk now, closer to the center of the room, idly trying to find patterns in the wood grain.

Naruto huffed. "Probably. Who was it again?" He asked, voice slightly muffled. He was sprawled across the top of his desk, attempting to fashion a miniature slingshot out of stick and paper.

Isa's brow furrowed in thought. "Kakashi Hatake, I think." She shrugged. "I've never heard of him."

"D'you think he's strong? Like, do you think he knows all kinds of cool jutsus?" Naruto wondered, grinning at the thought.

"Well, he's a jonin, isn't he? You have to be really good to become a jonin," Isa replied. She looked over at Sasuke, who was staring resolutely out a window, ignoring his teammates. "Have you heard of him, Sasuke?" She asked.

He stiffened slightly when she addressed him, but he glanced over at her after a moment. "No."

She faltered slightly at that, her friendly smile – the best she could muster at the moment – fading slightly. He turned back to the window, and Isa shook her head, hopping to her feet. Jumping from one desk to the next, she made her way to the back of the room, grabbing the bento that was sitting on top of the desk she'd been at earlier.

Naruto was watching her quizzically. "If he's going to take forever to show up, I'm going to eat," She reasoned, jumping back across the desks. Normally she'd never have done that, but she figured she was experiencing some kind of adrenaline rush that was lowering her inhibitions. She'd been so nervous, maybe this was some kind of emotional backlash where she stopped caring? Besides, it was the last day she'd ever be in an Academy classroom, might as well make the most of it.

She sat on top of the desk again, opening the bento slowly. Cracking open a fresh pair of chopsticks, she started eating, munching cheerfully and paying no mind to her new teammates.

A moment later, Naruto's stomach growled loudly. He flushed, sinking low in his seat. "Sorry," He said, grinning apologetically at her. "It just smells really good."

"Oh! You didn't bring anything? I'm sorry, I wouldn't have started eating if I'd known!" Isa exclaimed, cheeks pink in embarrassment. She started carefully separating a portion of the food in her bento. "Here, you can have some!"

Naruto's smile turned shy as he approached, hopping up to sit next to her on top of the desk. "Are you sure?" He asked, fingers hovering before the chopsticks she was offering him.

Isa giggled, nodding. "Yeah, go ahead. My mom always makes too much for me, anyway." He needed no more encouragement, taking the chopsticks with a bright smile. He cracked them open and started eating, humming a note of satisfaction.

"This is really good!" He said, mouth full and voice muffled. "Thanks!"

"I'll tell my mom you liked it, she'll be happy," Isa said, laughing at his enthusiasm. She blinked, suddenly remembering the third member of their team. She turned to Sasuke hesitantly. "Would you like some, Sasuke?"

He glanced at her, dark eyes inscrutable. "No."

"You're not hungry? There's plenty here," She said, trying for another smile, hoping to ease the surly boy's mood. He was leaning against the windowsill, arms crossed against his chest. He'd never been a social person, not in all the time that she'd known him. Their entire class had practically grown up together, but Isa couldn't remember a single time she'd seen Sasuke talking to the other children. He always sat alone, snapping at anyone who got too close. It was sad, she thought. She knew something terrible had happened to his family when he was very young, and he'd been on his own ever since.

Naruto too, she realized. He'd never had any family either, even though some people said that the Hokage paid special attention to him. She glanced at her teammates, smile fading as sadness rose in her chest. The thought of having her family ripped away from her was unimaginable, too painful to even consider. To have to grow up with no one, no family and no friends, she couldn't begin to imagine how alone they must have felt.

Isa took a deep breath and turned to Sasuke again, smile back in place. "Come on, I promise it's good," She said. He didn't respond, simply glaring more intensely at an undefined spot on the wall.

"Don't bother," Naruto said dismissively. "He's just an asshole."

Sasuke opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off when the classroom door opened. Their heads immediately swiveled to the door, waiting with bated breath. It cracked open, then opened fully, a tall, white-haired man walking in. He wore the standard uniform for Konoha ninja, but his forehead protector was pulled down over one eye. That, plus the mask that was pulled over the lower half of his face, obscured most of his features, leaving only a stretch of pale skin and one dark eye.

He looked at each of them, taking in Naruto with his mouth full of food, Sasuke, his mouth still open to snap at Naruto, and Isa, who was frowning intently at the newcomer. After a long moment, the silence stretching out into awkwardness, the man raised a hand, waving cheerily. He might have been smiling, but it was impossible to tell with the mask.

"I take it you three are Team Seven?" He asked. "I'm Kakashi Hatake."

Isa dropped her chopsticks into the empty bento box and jumped down from the desk, walking over to Kakashi and holding out a hand. "Nice to meet you, Kakashi-sensei. I'm Isa Yamanaka."

He took her hand, shaking it warmly. "Nice to meet you, too, Isa. What about you two?" He glanced up at Naruto and Sasuke.

Naruto bounced over, grinning widely. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Uh-huh. Nice to meet you," Kakashi said. Isa couldn't decide if he was amused or bored; his voice was rather monotonous, whether by nature or intentionally, she couldn't tell.

Sasuke stood up, tucking his hands into his pockets as he joined them. "Sasuke Uchiha," He muttered.

"Uchiha? Huh. Interesting group we've got here," Kakashi remarked lightly. His lone eye curled up in cheer. "Should be fun. Let's head out, then."

He waved for them to follow, leading them out of the Academy and into Konoha. They followed him away from the Academy, striking north, into what Isa could only assume was more administrative buildings. She rarely spent time in this part of town, and the streets here were quite, mostly unfamiliar. The buildings were tall, packed close together, yet somehow trees still managed to grow, casting dappled shadows over the ground as they walked. They wound through a handful of side streets, the path seemingly random, until he finally started climbing a set of stairs on a building Isa had never seen before. At the top, the roof of the building was flat, shaded by a large awning. Kakashi walked over to the edge of the roof and leaned against the railing there, turning to face them.

Naruto was looking around, confused. "Is this gonna be like our base of operations or something?" He asked.

Kakashi shook his head. "No, I just like the view." He braced his hands against the railing, surveying them silently for a moment. "Take a seat, then. This shouldn't take long. Let's start out by telling each other a little bit about ourselves. Who wants to start?" He looked at them expectantly.

Isa glanced at Naruto, who shrugged. "You just want us to tell you anything about ourselves?" She asked. Kakashi nodded. "Um, okay. My name is Isa, but you already know that." She frowned, thinking. "I'm a twin? That's something."

"What's your twin's name?" Kakashi asked.

"Ino."

"Who's the older twin?" His tone was light, conversational.

Isa frowned at him. "She is. By fifteen minutes."

Kakashi nodded. "And what are your strengths?"

She relaxed slightly. This was territory she was more comfortable with. "I got the second highest score in genjutsu and the third highest score in ninjutsu, and I scored first in cooperation and class attitude in the Academy graduation tests."

"Who scored higher than you in ninjutsu and genjutsu?" Kakashi asked.

Isa glanced at Sasuke. "Sasuke did, in both of them. In ninjutsu, my sister scored higher than me, but only by a little."

"So you're good at ninjutsu and genjutsu, huh?" Kakashi turned his attention to Sasuke, who shifted under his gaze.

"And taijutsu," He said.

Kakashi's voice, when he spoke, was still light, but Isa saw the way his gaze sharpened as he watched Sasuke. "Oh? Well, that's good. How about those cooperation and attitude scores?"

Sasuke simply glowered at him and didn't reply.

"Hey, what about me?" Naruto piped up, frowning at Kakashi.

Kakashi considered him with a hint of mirth in his eye. "Yes, what about you? What are your strengths?"

Sasuke snorted quietly. "Nothing."

Naruto glared at him, a flush of red creeping up his neck. "I'm good at things! I'm strong! I'll show you, you jerk, I'll be the best ninja you've ever seen!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, scoffing. "Whatever. You're still Dead-Last."

"Don't call me that!" Naruto's voice was rising now, his hands balling into fists.

Isa grabbed the sleeve of his orange jumpsuit, tugging until he looked down at her. "Ignore him, he's trying to get a rise out of you," She said. Naruto huffed, but reluctantly flopped down to sit beside her, making sure to angle himself away from Sasuke.

Kakashi waited for a moment, watching as the situation was defused. "Well, I'm sure you'll all enjoy the team exercise we have tomorrow."

"Team exercise?" Naruto asked. He perked up immediately, his anger already fading.

"All of the teams will be tested tomorrow by their jonin instructors. The nature of the tests vary, but they'll all be difficult."

"How difficult?" Isa asked.

Kakashi shrugged. "There's a sixty-six percent fail rate. Only three teams will be continuing after the test, everyone else either returns to the Academy for another year or will be dropped from the ninja program altogether."

Isa's eyes narrowed as she stared at Kakashi. "So what's our test?"

She could swear that he was grinning at her beneath his mask. "That'd be telling, wouldn't it? Just show up tomorrow at the Third Training Ground and you'll see."

Naruto frowned thoughtfully. "What time tomorrow?"

Kakashi paused, running a hand through his hair. "Uh, good question. I don't know, what's a good time? Eight?" Isa glanced at Naruto, who shrugged. "Yeah, that'll work. Eight tomorrow morning, Third Training Ground. See you there."

Kakashi tossed a goodbye wave over his shoulder as he turned, clambering over the railing and vaulting away, vanishing over the edge of the roof.

"Is he for real?" Naruto asked. "What a weird dude."

Isa smiled despite herself. "Yeah, but remember, powerful jutsus," She said, waggling her fingers playfully. After a minute, she stood. "I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow, then."

Naruto nodded, grinning. "Yeah, we'll beat his test no problem!"

She waved goodbye, laughing. Her head was full of possibilities as she descended the stairs, plans already forming in her mind. She didn't feel the slightest bit nervous, compared to earlier that morning it was as if a bubble of confidence had swelled up in her chest. She turned onto the path toward home, smiling up at the sky.

 _Yeah. We got this._

* * *

AN: Alright, well you've just finished the official rewrite of Tempest. The first chapter, at least. I wrote the original version of Tempest a long time ago and I left it unfinished halfway through when life got too busy. I always felt like I'd never been able to do it justice, though; I'd never accomplished what I'd set out to when I'd started writing the story. So this is my second attempt. There will be canon divergence later on, pretty much as soon as we get through the slog that is the graduation/survival test bit. But my hope for this story is that I'll actually finish it(or get close) and maybe write the story the way I originally intended. It's not going to be the same as the original story, so I'm leaving that up for anyone who wants to revisit it, but if you're interested in the rewrite, it's here. Thank you to everyone who reads, I hope you enjoy it!


	2. Chapter Two: Teamwork

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or it's characters. Isa and any other original characters are mine._

* * *

"The goal of this exercise is to test each of your strengths and weaknesses, both individually and as a team. It's not going to be easy, and you already know about the high fail rate, so you're going to want to pull out all the stops for this. Treat it like a real ninja mission and you might be able to make it." Kakashi paused, looking at his assembled team. "Any questions?"

Isa raised her hand. She was standing between Naruto and Sasuke, squinting into the morning sunlight. They had arrived at the Third Training Ground at eight that morning, as instructed, with Kakashi nowhere to be found. The three had lounged around the training ground for an hour and a half before Kakashi had appeared, brushing off his tardiness with a lame excuse. Now, he had them lined up in front of the memorial stone. The stone itself was a large, kunai-shaped monument, with a long list of names carved around it's base. Isa knew that somewhere on the stone was her uncle's name, inscribed there when he had died on a mission only a few years after she'd been born.

The memorial stone had been placed at the mouth of a large clearing, the path behind it leading back toward the village. The clearing was a flat, grassy area, surrounded by trees on three sides. On the opposite end of the long stretch of land lay the Taiyō River, a wide, fast-moving river that wound through the northern section of the village. The only indication that the clearing served as a training ground were the three thick posts set into the ground nearby. The wood was worn, battered by countless hours of taijutsu training.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are we actually supposed to do for this test?" Isa asked. "You haven't told us."

Kakashi nodded, producing a pair of small silver bells from a pocket. He held them out, jingling them. They chimed brightly, the silver gleaming in the sun. "Your goal today is to take these bells from me."

Isa blinked. "That's it? Just take the bells?"

"Well, I'm not going to just give them to you. You have to figure out how to get them, that's the exercise." He fastened the bells to his kunai pouch, which rested on his back, attached to the waistline of his pants.

"There are only two bells," Sasuke said. He hadn't greeted Isa or Naruto that morning, but he also hadn't glared quite as much as he had the day before, so Isa figured he was in a marginally better mood.

"Yes, there are only two bells," Kakashi said simply.

Isa frowned. "If we each need a bell, shouldn't there be three?"

"There are only two bells because there are only two of you who will be able to pass the test. I did tell you it'd be hard."

"You said it'd be hard, not impossible," Isa said, hands on her hips as she glared at her teacher.

"You made a team exercise out of deliberately pitting teammates against each other," Sasuke said. "How do you expect that to work?"

Naruto was uncharacteristically quiet, frowning thoughtfully. "He said it's about testing our strengths, maybe the bells aren't even important?" He glanced at his teammates and shrugged when they both shot him skeptical looks.

Sasuke scoffed. "If the bells aren't important then why make them the focus of the test? Idiot."

Naruto flushed. "Shut up! I'm not an idiot!"

Kakashi was watching them closely, arms crossed across his chest. "Did I forget to mention that there's a time limit?" He asked casually, chuckling when the three genin gaped at him. "Oops."

Sasuke grunted. "Whatever, I'm getting one of those bells." He shifted, feet pivoting in the dirt before he launched himself at Kakashi. His leg lashed out, aiming a kick at Kakashi's face, but he was blocked effortlessly. He bounced back, landing on his feet nearby. His eyes were sharp, analyzing Kakashi's movements, already trying to find an opening.

Naruto seemed to disregard planning altogether. He flew at Kakashi much as Sasuke had, only he let loose a torrent of punches, finding himself blocked every time. Kakashi, almost lazily, leaned back and kicked Naruto square in the chest, sending him flying into the dirt.

Isa remained where she stood, eyes flickering about the area as her teammates were both repelled. Her fingers twitched restlessly, but a strange sort of calm had settled over her. Her mind was clear, and when Sasuke leapt at Kakashi again, her hands flashed through a series of hand seals.

"Genjutsu: Sly Mind Affect Technique." Her voice was quiet, but the effect was immediate. The genjutsu was designed to subtly twist the victim's perception. She could skew their sense of depth, switch their sense of direction, or plant an illusion that would disrupt their internal balance. Kakashi's next block was slightly off-target, and Sasuke's foot caught against the side of his chest. Kakashi grunted, immediately glancing over to Isa.

She was already moving, circling around, subtly stacking on the strength of the genjutsu before rushing in close. Naruto had already moved in again, striking fast, diverting Kakashi's attention and keeping him unable to break the genjutsu. Isa's heart was pounding in her chest as she ran into arm's reach of her teacher. She crouched low and swept out her leg, catching Kakashi around his ankles. He faltered slightly, and she reached out, fingers grasping desperately for the bells.

They jingled mockingly, dancing just out of reach. Kakashi's hand was descending toward her, and with a hiss of frustration, Isa ducked out of the way. Rolling aside, she backed up, putting distance between herself and the bells once more. She felt her genjutsu break, Kakashi dissipating it with a simple surge of chakra.

He watched them, more cautious now, turning slowly in place. Naruto's face was dirty, his blond hair mussed, but he didn't even seem out of breath. Sasuke was still analyzing Kakashi carefully; Isa could practically see the wheels turning in his head.

 _We'll never be able to get the bells from him, not like this. Three genin going up against a jonin is a joke, especially when we're not working together._

Getting Naruto and Sasuke to actually work together wouldn't be easy, though. They didn't like each other as it was, even without the added competitiveness of the test.

 _And I don't know enough about their skills to be able to make a plan of attack._

"Guys, we need to work together," Isa said, looking to her teammates. "There's no way we can take him on separately like this."

"Maybe you two can't," Sasuke said.

She huffed, glaring at him. "We all stand a better chance of passing if we help each other out!"

"Just stay out of my way," He snapped. Isa opened her mouth to reply when he started backing up, taking in a deep breath. It was then that she realized he might have meant that quite literally. She scrambled backwards, dashing toward the treeline as Sasuke formed a hand seal.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" The words were nearly lost beneath the roar of flame as a fireball erupted from his mouth. It streaked toward Kakashi, singing the grass as it went. Isa reached the edge of the trees and ducked behind one just as the fireball exploded. The shockwave surged past her, sending her long ponytail flying, even as she huddled against the cover of a tree.

She crouched there for a long minute, straining her ears, listening for any sign of life. Nothing. Even the birds had fallen silent. Cautiously, she poked her head around the tree, eying the clearing. There was a small crater where Kakashi had been, but no sign of their teacher. Naruto and Sasuke were both gone. All that was left was smoldering grass.

She ducked back behind the tree, pulling her ponytail tighter. "Dammit."

 _What now? Naruto and Sasuke are off who-knows-where, probably fighting with each other or hiding. Kakashi-sensei could be anywhere, and we have no way of tracking him down._

The thought briefly crossed her mind that Kakashi might just leave them out there, wandering the Third Training Ground until they finally gave up, while he relaxed back in the village. Shaking her head, Isa pushed away from the tree, winding deeper into the forest. The Third Training Ground wasn't the biggest of the training grounds in the village, but it was large enough for someone to hide in without fear of being caught. She'd just have to search everywhere until she found someone, whether it be her teacher or her teammates.

The woods here weren't particularly thick, making it easier for Isa to traverse the area. The low brush left little opportunity for cover, however, so she was forced to flit from tree to tree, hiding against the trunks. Luckily, the trees here were old, their trunks wide enough to offer ample protection.

Isa crept along, fishing a kunai out of the pouch at her back. She had never been the best with kunai, but she'd decided to experiment with wrapping explosive tags around the handles to see if the firepower made up for her lack of skill. There was a tag wrapped around the handle of the kunai she held now, gripped tightly in her hand.

She was edging around one tree when there was a flicker of movement at the edge of her vision. She wheeled to face it, yelping in surprise when a warm hand descended on her mouth, muffling the noise. Sasuke stood before her, his hand clamped over her mouth. He lifted a finger to his lips and raised his eyebrows, waiting until she nodded to remove his hand.

He stepped back, looking around, paranoia edging into the hard set of his jaw. "Did you find him yet?" He asked.

Isa took a deep breath, her heart racing in her chest, then pouted at him petulantly. "No, I haven't. No thanks to you. What was the big idea with the fireball?"

He shrugged. "It would have worked if he hadn't moved."

She stared at him, aghast. "What do you mean 'if he hadn't moved'? Of course he was gonna move! How did you manage to graduate with the highest Academy scores if you're so dumb?" She shook her head, almost laughing at the absurdity of it.

He simply glared at her, waiting for her to finish before speaking. "So what now?" He asked, looking at her expectantly.

She sighed, running a hand across her forehead. "I don't know. Try to find Naruto, probably. I don't know how we're going to do that, though, not in this forest." She considered Sasuke for a moment, brow furrowed in thought. He had his hands in his pockets and was absently scuffing at the ground with one foot, peering up at her through his bangs. It was perhaps the most relaxed she'd ever seen him, admittedly a nice change from the angry glaring.

But still, there was something off. It niggled at the edge of her thoughts, a warning light that she couldn't quite ignore. They stared at each other, Sasuke waiting patiently, face blank.

Isa swallowed hard, her palms slick with sweat. "Do you... do you think Kakashi-sensei would try to hunt us down? That's not really the point of the test, but still."

Sasuke cocked his head to one side thoughtfully. "Maybe. Guess we won't know until we run into him," He said. His mouth twitched, smirking as their eyes met.

"Yeah, I guess so." Isa's jaw clenched, fingers tightening around the handle of her kunai. In a sudden surge of motion, she flung the kunai toward him. It flew toward him as she dove away, flinging herself toward the ground as she shouted the activation word.

The tag exploded, the shock catching Isa's body as she fell, pushing her to the side. She slammed into a tree, the breath leaving her body in a painful rush. She toppled to the ground, groaning. She stirred after a moment, opening her eyes. The world was spinning wildly and a spot above her left eyebrow stung sharply; something wet dripped down the side of her face. She couldn't hear anything besides the echoing, static-y ringing in her ears.

Isa coughed, pushing herself onto her hands and knees. With effort, one hand braced against a tree, she managed to get to her feet, wobbling dangerously. Sasuke was gone, the kunai lodged deep in a nearby tree.

"What tipped you off?" Kakashi's voice filtered down from above her. Isa glanced up carefully, the motion sending the ground tilting beneath her again. He appeared completely unscathed, the two bells still dangling from his waist.

She grimaced, wiping absently at the trickle of blood above her eye. "Your chakras are different. You didn't feel like Sasuke."

He nodded, and when he spoke, he sounded mildly impressed. "Pretty young to be displaying that kind of chakra sensory. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, your whole family is full of sensor types. Nice trick with the explosive tag, by the way."

Isa leaned against the closest tree, her vision slowly returning to normal. "What now? Did I fail?"

He shook his head. "No, I just wanted to see what you'd do."

"Alright, well..." She stood upright with some effort, drawing forth her chakra. She faced Kakashi, making a simple hand seal. "Paralysis Genjutsu."

He stiffened, his limbs frozen in place. Pouring an extra surge of chakra into the jutsu, Isa turned and stumbled away. It wouldn't hold for long, Kakashi could undoubtedly break it any time he wanted to, but it felt wrong to just walk away without making some kind of effort. Not that she could do much now, with her ears still ringing and her steps unsteady.

Isa stepped carefully, moving slowly now. Her sense of direction was skewed after the blast, and the throbbing in her head made thinking difficult. She wove through the trees, striking out toward what she hoped was the memorial stone. She'd been wandering for a few minutes when she felt her genjutsu break.

 _So much for that. Maybe the explosive tag wasn't such a great idea. At least Kakashi-sensei is the only one who knows that I probably gave myself a concussion._

For a while, it seemed as if she was walking aimlessly. The trees began to blend together, each trunk identical to the last. There wasn't even the sun to help orient her; the sky was completely blotted out by the leaves above her. Instead of blue there was an endless maze of twisting branches and leaves that fluttered gently in the breeze. Eventually, the trees began to thin out, though at first it seemed as if it might be a trick of the light.

 _No, they're definitely getting smaller. Did I actually manage to find the clearing again?_

A spark of hope kindled in her chest and as if on cue, Naruto appeared in front of her. His hands were raised and his mouth was open to say something, his expression slightly panicked. Whatever he was going to say was cut off as Isa was abruptly yanked into the air.

She let out a strangled cry, dangling upside-down from a makeshift rope trap. "Naruto! What the hell?!" She swung back and forth, arms flailing and she tried to reach for a kunai.

Naruto grimaced. "Sorry! You weren't supposed to walk into it!" He quickly ducked behind a tree and cut the rope. Without warning, Isa collapsed to the ground as suddenly as she'd left it. He reappeared and leaned over her, frowning. "Wow, you don't look so good. What happened?"

"Explosive tag." She groaned.

"Oh, is that was that was? I was wondering. Come on," He said, reaching down to help her up. She took his hand and slowly pulled herself to her feet, wincing.

"Did you really think a rope trap would work on Kakashi-sensei?" She asked, rubbing the swelling bump on the back of her head from where she'd landed.

"It worked against you, didn't it?" Naruto quipped, grinning. "Even though I guess that's probably because you're all messed up from the exploding tag thing. I dunno, I thought it was worth a shot."

Isa looked down at the rope lying on the forest floor, then blinked. She turned to Naruto with a smile. "You're a genius!"

He grinned triumphantly. "Yeah!" He paused, frowning suddenly. "Wait, why am I a genius?"

She giggled, shaking her head before quickly holding out her hands to steady herself as her vision blurred again. "We have to set up a trap, that's the only way we can get the bells," She said after a moment, once the wooziness had passed. "Not a rope trap, a better one. We're gonna need Sasuke's help, though."

Naruto's shoulders slumped. "But why? Sasuke sucks."

Isa clapped him on the shoulder, partly to encourage him, partly to support herself. "The whole point of this test is teamwork. We've gotta work together if we want to pass."

"But there are only two bells, all of us can't pass no matter what we do."

She shook her head. "I think you were right earlier, I don't think the bells are the point. That's the only way it makes sense. We're three genin going up against a jonin, there's no way we'd stand a chance on our own, but together we might be able to get the bells. So we work together. Yeah?" She waited, staring at him expectantly until he finally nodded.

"Yeah, okay. But where do we even find Sasuke? He could be anywhere. Maybe he got lost?" Naruto suggested, looking hopeful.

"I'm not an idiot, I can find my way around a forest." Sasuke dropped down beside them, flinching when Isa and Naruto both shouted in alarm. His clothes and face were dirty, and there was an air of irritation around him. "You two are so loud, Kakashi probably heard everything you've been saying."

"Is that how you found us?" Isa asked. This time she knew it was the real Sasuke because he shot her a derisive look and snorted.

"You screamed when you landed in that stupid trap, of course that's how I found you."

She made an offended noise, pouting. "I didn't scream!" She looked to Naruto, who laughed.

"You totally screamed! Like a little girl," He said.

Isa glared at him. "I'm not a little girl! And I didn't scream!" She crossed her arms over her chest irritably as Naruto continued laughing. "Shut up! Let's just make a plan, okay? Before we run out of time."

Naruto nodded, trying to stifle his laughter with a cough. "Yeah, what are we gonna do?" He asked, waiting for Isa to explain. Sasuke's eyes were on her as well, perpetually annoyed but at least willing to listen.

She motioned them closer, lowering her voice to a whisper. "I think what we did in the very beginning could work," She said. "Two of us charge him, and a third hangs back. My plan is for you two to charge at him, use taijutsu or ninjutsu, whichever, just keep him busy. If you can force him to defend and stay in one spot for long enough, I can use my Mind-Body Switch technique. I won't be able to hold him for long, but I think I can give you guys enough time to get the bells." She looked at them hopefully. "What do you think?"

"Sounds dumb," Sasuke muttered.

She huffed at him. "Do you have a better idea?"

"No," He admitted reluctantly, scowling.

Naruto was pulling his forehead protector tighter, determination in his bright blue eyes. "You want us to go all-out for this?" He asked.

Isa nodded. "Throw everything you've got at him."

He grinned. "I can do that. Let's go."

Isa limped forward, shoulders set with confidence. Her head was pounding, dirt and tacky blood were smeared across her face, but the sense of calm had returned. They emerged from the trees, cautiously making their way toward the memorial stone. Kakashi was leaning against it, a book in his hands. He glanced up at them as they approached.

"I was starting to think you guys had gotten lost. Nice to see everyone's in one piece."

Naruto looked back at Isa, beginning to circle around Kakashi when she nodded. Sasuke followed suit, mirroring Naruto's movement. Kakashi watched them from over the top of his book, eyebrow raised questioningly. Isa had a kunai in her hand, this one without an explosive tag on the handle. She shifted, feet slipping into a defensive stance, and threw the kunai. It sailed toward Kakashi and was batted away easily.

Naruto and Sasuke sprung into action as soon as the kunai left Isa's hand. Sasuke formed a familiar hand seal, sucking in another deep breath as he prepared his Fireball Jutsu.

Naruto had formed a hand seal of his own. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He shouted. There was an enormous puff of smoke, and when it cleared, there were clones of Naruto littering the clearing. Isa's eyebrows rose in surprise.

 _These aren't normal clones. They feel solid. And – yep – they've got shadows, they're definitely not normal clones. What kind of jutsu is this? And how did he make so many?_

She had no more time to wonder because Sasuke had released his jutsu, sending a fireball straight toward Kakashi. Naruto's clones went in after it, paying no mind to the explosion as it hit. Some of the clones were hurled away, poofing out of existence, but most remained, dogpiling as the flames dissipated.

There was a flicker at the edge of Isa's vision, and for a split second she was sure it was just another side-effect of the blast earlier. But there was no mistaking that head of spiky white hair.

"Naruto! Sasuke!" She called out, even as she raised her hands. She formed an 'O' with her index fingers and thumbs, positioning it over Kakashi.

 _Just hold still for another second. There._

"Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

Her mind fled her body, streaming across the clearing toward Kakashi. Behind her, her body crumpled to the ground. The Yamanaka clan techniques had originally been intended for reconnaissance and information-gathering, but they could also be highly effective in combat situations, provided the target was immobile for the necessary amount of time. It wasn't necessarily dangerous to attempt a switch with a mobile opponent, but if the person moved out of range, then Isa's consciousness would be forced to find it's way back to her body, which could take as long as two seconds or three hours.

She wasn't sure if Kakashi hadn't been expecting the technique or if he'd anticipated it and remained still to ensure her safety, but she managed to gain a foothold in his mind regardless. His mental defenses were powerful, his mind warded against intrusion. All ninja were taught how to shield their thoughts, at least at a basic level, and given Kakashi's experience it was no surprise that his guards was stronger than most. But the Yamanaka techniques were designed to be subtle, to seep through the walls that kept them out.

Isa plied at Kakashi's wards, pulling at them until they began to unravel. All she needed was the tiniest bit of give, and then she was flooding into his body, her consciousness buffeting his into submission. She left his mind alone, his secrets safe, and instead flexed her fingers. Or rather, his fingers.

It was always strange looking out through someone's else's eyes. In this case, all she had was the single eye. He had two eyes, she knew that much, but the other was different, alien-feeling, and she shirked away from it, unwilling to test the limits of Kakashi's patience. Instead, she raised his arms, giving her teammates the opportunity they needed. Sasuke took the cue and darted in, snatching the bells from Kakashi's waist. As soon as he backed away, bells in hand, Isa left Kakashi's body.

It took a moment for her to regain consciousness, as it were. Feeling returned, in her fingers and toes first before working up through the rest of her body until her consciousness felt secure again. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking blearily as she sat up. Naruto was cheering loudly, brandishing one of the silver bells. Sasuke held the other, and gave Isa a terse nod when she caught his gaze. Kakashi was standing in front of her with his hand outstretched.

"That was nicely done," He said, smiling cheerfully from behind his mask.

Isa took his hand, letting him pull her to her feet. "Did that count? Did we do it?"

"Well, there are still only two bells and there are three of you, but I assume you've all come to the correct conclusion that the bells aren't the actual important part of the test."

Naruto nodded, grinning ear-to-ear. "You told us at the beginning, it was all about teamwork!"

"We couldn't have done it by ourselves, anyway," Sasuke muttered, rather grudgingly.

"I'll admit, you did better than I expected. I wasn't sure you'd be able to work together," Kakashi said. "You all displayed some pretty powerful jutsus. I guess I underestimated you."

"Does that mean we passed?" Naruto asked, bouncing excitedly.

"Yes, you all passed," Kakashi said, chuckling as Naruto leapt into the air, pumping his fist in victory. Kakashi looked up at the sky for a moment. "Should we all get lunch and discuss what happens next?" He asked.

Isa hadn't thought it possible, but Naruto became even more excited. He latched onto Kakashi's arm, staring up at him with wide eyes. "Can we go to Ichiraku Ramen? Can we? _Please_?"

Kakashi sighed. "I regret this already. Lead the way, Naruto."

Needing no further encouragement, Naruto sprinted away and disappeared into the trees, cheering all the while. Isa laughed, limping along after him. Kakashi was reading again, his face buried in his book, and Sasuke was trailing slightly behind Isa, hands buried in his pockets.

She glanced back at him with a smile. "You know, my head hurts really bad, but I don't even care. We did it!"

Sasuke looked at her and grunted. "Yeah, we did."

* * *

AN: Alright, rewritten version of chapter two is done. I hated writing this the first time around and I pretty much hated it this time, too. Luckily, we'll be moving on to new and exciting things after this.


	3. Chapter Three: Real Ninja Work

_"The dark it burns my eyes_  
 _My bones they used to glow"_

* * *

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. Isa Yamanaka and any other original characters are mine._

* * *

It turned out that the next step in the life of a newly graduated genin was D-rank missions. A lot of them. Isa had known that D-rank missions were coming, her father had taken Ino and her aside before they'd graduated and explained how missions worked.

"You're not going to be completing dangerous missions as soon as you're promoted," Inoichi had said, smiling apologetically. "I know that the shinobi dream is to fight for the safety of your village, but no genin is going to be tasked with anything like that, especially not at first."

Ino had slumped dejectedly, pulling at the grass in front of her. They'd been sitting in the garden a few weeks prior to graduation, enjoying the last of the evening sun as it slowly sunk into the sky. The garden was shrouded in long shadows, the air finally beginning to cool. Above, the barest glimmer of stars were starting to appear, the pinks and oranges of sunset fading into inky blue. Isa was laying on her back in the grass beside her sister, staring up at the sky. It had been a peaceful moment, when she could practically feel the world slowing down around her, as if life itself had finally paused to take a breath.

"What will we do, then?" Ino asked, pouting at their father.

"You know that missions are assigned based on a ranking system, right?" Inoichi asked. When they nodded, he continued, "D-rank is the lowest ranking missions, they're almost always assigned to genin. Theoretically they'll never involve any actual danger to the shinobi who are assigned the mission. C-rank missions are the next highest ranking, but they're generally assigned to chunin. Three-man genin squads are occasionally assigned to C-rank missions if they're particularly skilled or if the village is short-staffed, but it doesn't happen often."

Isa sighed softly, frowning up at the stars. "So we'll be doing lots of D-rank missions? What are we gonna do? Water plants or something?"

"I don't wanna water plants!" Ino whined. "I wanna do real shinobi missions like you do!"

Inoichi chuckled, ruffling Ino's hair playfully. "You'll get there some day, you just have to be a little patient."

Ino batted his hand away, smoothing her bangs. "I hate being patient, though."

"I bet the Third Hokage didn't have to do D-rank missions," Isa said emphatically.

Ino nodded. "Probably not. I bet everyone was all, 'oh, you're very strong and cool, you don't have to do D-rank missions like the other genin,'" She said, throwing her voice into a low, stilted pitch. "Well, you know what, we're strong too, and we're probably cooler than he is, so I feel like this is unfair."

"We're definitely cooler than the Third Hokage," Isa agreed. Inoichi burst out laughing, clutching his stomach as tears of mirth gathered at the corners of his eyes. Isa rolled onto her knees, frowning at him. "Don't laugh! Just watch, we'll blow through these D-rank missions and they won't have any choice but to give us C-ranks!"

A month later, Isa was convinced that fate was laughing at the cruel irony. They'd gotten their team assignments two weeks ago, had passed Kakashi's test, and finally embarked on their new lives as shinobi. And then Isa found herself babysitting. And picking weeds. And grocery shopping.

 _'When Kakashi-sensei told us we'd be stuck doing D-ranks, I didn't think he'd make us do anything this awful.'_

She was sitting on the wide railing of a bridge, feet swinging over the water below. The sun was rising, painting the clouds gold and pink. Naruto was sitting beside her, yawning widely. Sasuke was on her other side, leaning against the railing with his arms crossed. For once, they were all silent.

They didn't exactly get along, even after spending practically every day together for the past two weeks. But there existed an awkward sort of truce between the three of them now, the realization that getting through D-rank missions quickly was more important than their petty squabbles. Yesterday they'd been tasked with babysitting the influential Kimura family's rambunctious three year-old.

"If we have to do another babysitting mission today, I'm going to... kill someone or something, I don't know," Isa muttered, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"I thought kids were supposed to be quiet and cute, not loud and _evil_ ," Naruto said. He pulled at the collar of his orange-and-blue jacket, grumbling under his breath. "I don't wanna do any more D-rank missions."

"But Kakashi-sensei's all 'you need practice working as a team and D-ranks are the best way to do that, blah blah blah'." Isa mimicked Kakashi's apathetic tone as she spoke, slouching and pretending to flip through a book.

"I don't sound like that," Kakashi said, his tone mockingly offended. Isa squeaked in surprise, jumping reflexively. She turned to find Kakashi standing behind her, smiling cheerfully underneath his mask.

She flushed bright red, swinging her legs over the side of the railings to face her teacher. "You didn't tell me he was right here!" She hissed to Sasuke.

He smirked. "It was funnier this way."

"Oh, yeah, it was hilarious," she made a face at him, voice very dry. Taking a deep breath, she grinned up at Kakashi apologetically. "Sorry, Kakashi-sensei, please don't punish us with more D-ranks."

Naruto nodded. "I'm tired of these D-rank missions. Why can't we do a C-rank, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head, peering at them thoughtfully. "You sure you guys are ready to take on a C-rank mission?"

Naruto hopped to his feet, hands planted on his hips. "Of course we're ready! We wanna do real ninja work, not this dumb babysitting stuff!"

Sasuke grunted in agreement. "D-ranks are a waste of time. We'd learn more if we were actually able to use our skills."

Isa nodded, staring up at Kakashi with wide blue eyes. "Please, Kakashi-sensei?" She pleaded, sticking her bottom lip out in a childish pout.

Kakashi chuckled, raising his hands in surrender. "Okay, fine, we can do a C-rank

mission. Let's go talk to the Third Hokage about it, then."

"Yes!" Naruto cheered, jumping in excitement. He folded his hands behind his head, turning to lead the way to the Hokage's office. "Just wait, Kakashi-sensei, you'll see how good we really are!"

"I'm sure I'll be very impressed," Kakashi said, deadpan. He'd already pulled his book out of a pocket in his flak jacket, following along behind Naruto as he read. Isa kept pace with Sasuke, looking around idly.

It was early summer, and the truly hot days had yet to set in. Plants were still green, though Isa knew that they would fade to brown once the heat of summer sapped all the moisture from the earth. They lived in the Land of Fire, and it was named such for a reason. Though The Land of Wind was hotter and far more arid than the Land of Fire, Konoha still suffered long, dry heatwaves every summer. But for now, there was still a pleasant coolness to the air, and the sky was dotted with clouds.

The bridge where Team Seven had started meeting was near the outskirts of town, leading toward the Northern portion of the village, which was mostly large swaths of forest. The streets they walked down now were narrower than in the center of town; the buildings were shorter and farther apart, houses full of families instead of shops or apartments.

 _'It's strange living in a place your entire life and realizing there are still parts of it you've never seen before, and people you've never met. Even weirder to realize that there's the entire rest of the world out there and I've never even left the village.'_

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei," Isa said, craning her neck to look back at him. "If we do get a C-rank mission, d'you think we'll have to leave the village?"

"We might," Kakashi replied noncommittally.

Isa frowned. "But we probably won't?"

He shrugged. "We could."

"So we will?" She asked. Kakashi just shrugged again. Isa cast an exasperated look at Sasuke, who shook his head as if to say, "it's hopeless."

Isa rolled her eyes, absently flicking her bangs out of her face. They were nearing the center of the village now, and the streets were steadily growing more crowded. Passerby walked to and fro, carrying shopping bags or purses, the loud din of conversation rising around them. Isa followed the gaudy orange of Naruto's jacket, weaving through the crowd as they made their way to the main street.

They passed Yamanaka Flowers on the way and Isa glanced into the large windows at the front of the store. Through the slight distortion of the glass she could see her mother watering a row of flowers, laughing at something. Ino was standing next to her, talking animatedly, gesturing with her arms as if re-enacting a scene. A fleeting sadness pinched in Isa's chest; she hadn't spoken to Ino for more than a few minutes over the last two weeks. They'd both been understandably busy, swept up in the excitement of team assignments and missions. But in the little time they'd had together, Ino had been very clear that she bore no ill will toward Isa regarding her team assignment.

"It's no big deal," she'd said, waving a hand dismissively. "Seriously, don't worry about it. Look, Sasuke is cute, but he hasn't exactly been responding well to all of my flirting, so maybe taking more of a laid-back approach is a good idea? Maybe if he gets used to you then he'll get used to me by association. Who knows? But really, I'm not mad."

It had been enough to set Isa's mind at ease, but regardless, two weeks was a long time for her to go without talking to her sister. It was a strange feeling, for their lives to suddenly diverge on such separate paths. It wasn't unexpected, not really, but Isa had found that the reality of the situation differed hugely from the idea of it.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, will we always be this busy with missions and stuff?" She asked suddenly.

"Not always," He replied, swerving to avoid a wayward child running across the street. How he managed to do so with his face buried in a book, Isa wasn't sure. "But there's usually a rush of D-rank missions right after Academy graduation. Things will slow down soon enough and then you'll get bored."

Isa scoffed. "No way, I'll never get bored. My dad's always busy doing things, how can

you get bored with that?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Your father's head of the Intelligence Division and you're a genin, there's a bit of a difference there."

She glanced at him over her shoulder, grinning. "Yeah, well some day I'll be head of the Intelligence Division, and there won't be any difference at all."

Naruto, from slightly ahead, turned, walking backward as people in the crowd stumbled out of his way. "Isa, you're gonna be head of the Intelligence Division? I'm gonna be the next Hokage! We can totally hang out and plan secret ninja things!"

She giggled. "Yeah, let's hang out and plan secret ninja things when we're all successful." She glanced over at Sasuke. "What are you gonna do when you're older, Sasuke?"

"Not hang out with you losers," he muttered.

"Losers? Guess who scored higher than you in teamwork and class attitude?" Isa said, grinning cheerfully. "I did!"

Sasuke looked bored. "Guess what doesn't actually matter at all? Both of those things."

She held up her hands as they began to draw closer to the Academy. "Whoa, hold on, we never would have gotten though Kakashi-sensei's test without teamwork. You're saying that's not important?"

He rolled his eyes. "I'm saying your Academy scores aren't important. No enemy shinobi you run into out there is going to care that you scored the highest in class attitude. All that matters is whether you're strong enough to defeat him or not."

Isa wrinkled her nose unhappily. "I mean, being strong is good and all, but you can't just punch your way through everything. That's dumb."

"You're dumb," Sasuke retorted. She stuck her tongue out at him childishly, laughing when he huffed in irritation.

"Alright, settle down, Academy geniuses," Kakashi said mildly. They were outside the Academy now, though more appropriately, they were near the Academy. The Hokage's Office was connected to the Academy, but the classrooms and the office were on opposite sides of the long building. On the other end of the building, Isa could see Academy students, barely older than six by the looks of it, running around the playground.

"Aren't you glad we're not that old any more?" She motioned to the children on the playground.

Naruto laughed. "Yeah, now we can finally do cool things." He yanked open the door to the administrative side of the building and bounced inside. Kakashi held the door open after him, letting Isa and Sasuke file in before he followed, the door falling shut behind him.

The Hokage's office was on the third floor of the building, and after a short walk up a few flights of stairs, they were milling around outside the door. There were two shinobi seated at the large desk in the waiting room, and they snapped to attention when the team entered the room.

"Hey, Kotetsu, Izumo," Kakashi greeted them, raising a hand in a lazy wave. "Is the Hokage busy?"

Izumo scanned the ledger in front of him. His dark hair hung in front of one eye, and he wore his forehead protector like a bandana; the fabric of his standard shinobi outfit climbed up his neck, pulled up just above his chin. Isa had seen him and his partner, Kotetsu, around the village before, primarily guarding the front gates. Kotetsu was reclining in his chair, running a hand through his spiky black hair. He had a thin strip of bandage wrapped across the bridge of his nose, and Isa idly wondered if it was there to cover an old scar.

"Looks like there's half an hour before his next appointment," Izumo said after a moment. He jerked a thumb at the door. "You can go see him now."

"Have fun with your D-rank mission," Kotetsu drawled, grinning as they passed.

Naruto paused, turning to jab a finger at the older shinobi. "We're done with D-ranks! We're real ninja now, and we deserve to be treated like it! We're gonna walk out with a C-rank mission, just watch!"

Kotetsu blinked, somewhat taken aback. "Uh... alright, well, go get 'em, I guess." He shrugged, glancing over at Izumo, who just shook his head.

Naruto nodded decisively, satisfied he'd won that exchange, and pushed open the doors of the Hokage's office. It was a wide, semi-circular room, and the entire back wall was lined with windows. From here, you could see practically all of Konoha spread out before them, even all the way down to the main gate at the other end of the village, though it was little more than a dark blob in the distance. The Hokage's desk, however, faced inward, away from the windows. Isa had only been to the Hokage's office once before, when she was very young, but even then it had seemed strange to turn away from the beautiful view of the village and instead choose to stare at the bland wall behind her.

They did say that the Hokage was a strange man, though, so maybe that explained it. The Third Hokage was sitting at his desk, squinting at a pile of paperwork rather dejectedly. He was an old man, his beard white and his face heavily lined with wrinkles. But his eyes were kind, and there were deep laughter lines around his mouth. He looked up when they entered and he smiled almost knowingly.

"Ah, Team Seven. What can I do for you today?" He asked, steepling his fingers together in front of him. "Here for a mission, perhaps?"

Isa and Sasuke both stopped in the center of the room, halfway to his desk, with Kakashi behind them, but Naruto marched right up to the Hokage, utterly unabashed.

"Yeah, we are! But listen, Old Man Hokage, we're not doing any more of these D-ranks! We want a C-rank mission!"

Isa's eyebrows rose in surprise. The Hokage was laughing as if that kind of disrespect was normal, expected, even. She glanced up at Kakashi, who caught her eye and shrugged. He seemed unperturbed, as if he, too, had expected this.

"Now, Naruto, you know that the missions are assigned based on relative skill and experience," the Hokage said. "I can't send genin out on a C-rank mission if I don't think they'll be able to handle it."

"But you know we can handle it!" Naruto said insistently. He turned to his teammates for support. "Right, guys?"

Isa blinked, turning slightly pink as the Hokage's attention shifted to her and Sasuke. He was watching them with an amused smile, waiting for one of them to speak. Sasuke shot her a look as if to say, "do something, idiot."

"Uh, right. We think that we can handle a C-rank mission," she said, taking a step forward. She clasped her hands behind her back to stop from fidgeting. "The D-rank missions are... well, they're really kind of awful and boring. Sir," she added quickly, flushing again.

The Hokage laughed, eyes crinkled in mirth. Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, Isa stepped back into place beside Sasuke, her face burning. "What do you say, Kakashi? Think we should let them take on a C-rank?"

Isa could hear the rustle of clothing as Kakashi shrugged. "I'll never hear the end of it if we don't."

The Hokage chuckled, shaking his head as he began shuffling through a stack of papers. "Let's see," he muttered quietly, searching for a moment before producing a paper with a triumphant nod. "Here's the one. We got this one just a few days ago; a merchant out in Suiden Village has requested a bodyguard detail for himself and his family. Apparently he suspects that there are those in the village who are plotting against him.

"Your job would be to go to Suiden Village and act as his bodyguards. There will be more details once you confer with the merchant himself, I'm sure, but it's indicated here that you may need to act undercover at some point. Beyond the bodyguard detail, he has also asked that you investigate who is conspiring against him. There's no indication whether he wants you to take action against the perpetrators or not, so as far as we know, it's simple investigation work. Think this is doable?"

Naruto was frowning. "Where the heck is Suiden Village?"

"It's to the Northwest, near the border with the Land of Grass," Kakashi replied. "About a day-and-a-half, maybe two days trip."

"So if we leave now we'll get there some time tomorrow?" Naruto asked. Kakashi nodded. "Alright! Let's go, then!"

Isa, Naruto, and Sasuke all looked to Kakashi, who heaved a small sigh before taking the assignment form from the Hokage. Naruto was practically vibrating with excitement, and even Sasuke seemed interested in the mission, his perpetual gloominess lifting slightly.

"Thank you, sir. We'll be back when we've completed the mission," Kakashi said, pocketing the assignment form. He turned, lazily waving his team out of the room. "Come on, let's get going."

Isa followed Naruto and Sasuke out of the office. As they passed Izumo and Kotetsu, Naruto flashed them a thumbs-up and a grin.

"Told you we'd get a C-rank!" He crowed triumphantly, bouncing toward the stairs. The two shinobi stared after him with dumbfounded expressions.

"Kakashi-sensei, what should we bring with us?" Isa asked as they began descending the stairs. "What do we pack for a longer mission?"

"Don't you remember anything from our wilderness survival classes?" Sasuke taunted, though he was lacking some of his usual venom.

"I do, but we're staying in a village, not the forest, stupid," Isa replied, making a face at him.

He made a mocking face in response. "We're staying in the forest on the way there, _stupid_."

Kakashi clapped a hand on each of their shoulders, steering them down the stairs. "Bring a backpack with a bedroll and your basic gear. We shouldn't need anything too crazy."

Naruto had already reached the bottom of the stairs, and was holding the front door open, waiting for them to catch up. "Can we leave right now, Kakashi-sensei?" He asked.

"We'll meet at the front gates in half an hour, just run home and get whatever you need before heading there," Kakashi said. Naruto nodded and as soon as the other three were out the door, he took off running. Kakashi shook his head tiredly. "I didn't mean literally run."

Isa laughed, waving goodbye over her shoulder as she started down the main street. Sasuke was already walking off, and when she looked back, Kakashi had vanished. She hurried down the street, weaving through the crowds. The Yamanaka house wasn't terribly far from the Academy, but it was in a neighborhood that was small and private, a place that had somehow insulated itself against the noise of the busy village streets.

As soon as Isa turned off of the main road, the sounds of city life began to quiet. The buildings here were still tall, but they were apartments instead of shops, and instead of people walking everywhere there were bicycles propped against walls and cats padding silently atop fences. It was a nice place, lined by trees, and Isa had always privately hoped she could live there some day, in one of the apartments with a view of the street.

Further along was the turn onto the street the Yamanaka's lived on. Here, the apartments were gone, replaced with houses set back from the road. She'd always found these houses peculiar, as if they'd been designed to hide themselves away. They'd been built in such a way that the front of the house was rather narrow; it looked like a small home when you approached it from the street, but the lots they'd been built on were long, and the houses extended far back, only giving the illusion of a quaint, cozy little home.

Her home was no different, but it very clearly belonged to them. At least Isa thought so; no other house that she'd seen in the village was so bright, even their front yard abounded with flowers. She skipped up the front steps and opened the door to the house, shutting it behind her. From the hush, it seemed as if no one else was home.

 _'Mom and Ino are probably still at the flower shop. I don't think I have enough time to go say goodbye. I guess I can just leave a note, that'll be fine.'_

She bounded up the stairs, turning into her bedroom. It wasn't an overly large room, but it was big enough for her bed, her desk, her bookshelf, and her closet. The walls had been painted a light buttery yellow color that lent an openness to the room, making it feel bigger than it was. Her backpack was under her bed, crumpled up among blankets, old books, and her bedroll. It was all standard-issue shinobi gear, purchased a few months ago when Inoichi had taken both girls to one of the many shops in the village that catered to shinobi.

After locating a portable water purifier and an extra set of explosive tags, Isa sat down at her desk, pen and paper in hand. Her note was short and simple; she ended it with a promise to be safe and a sloppily-drawn heart next to her name. Satisfied, she slung the backpack onto one shoulder, heavier now that her bedroll and other supplies were jammed inside, and made her way back downstairs.

She left the note on the kitchen counter where it could be easily found and left the house, winding through the streets toward the main gates of the village. The gates were visible from nearly anywhere in the village; they were huge green wood doors, and on them in red paint were the hirigana for "hermitage". They were always open during the day, thrown wide to welcome travelers to the village.

There was only one time Isa could remember them being closed during the day. She'd been seven years old, and the morning had dawned grey and rainy. All she remembered was looking out from the bedroom window and seeing the great gates were closed, the distant tolling of somber bells in her ears. Her parents had refused to explain why the gates were closed, they only shook their heads sadly. She'd found out a few days later, after Sasuke hadn't shown up to Academy classes, that his entire clan had been killed. He'd never been the same after that.

Naruto and Sasuke were both waiting by the gates when Isa arrived. Naruto waved cheerfully; his backpack was so full that it looked ready to explode.

Isa laughed as she approached. "Are you bringing everything you own?" She asked him.

"No! But you never know what we might need out there!" He said, planting his hands on his hips defensively.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "We're not going to need a high-pressure ramen cooker or whatever else your stupid brain came up with," he said. He crossed his arms over his chest, glaring up the main street of the village. "Would it kill him to actually be on time for once?"

"What was that, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked, appearing behind the boy. He leaned over Sasuke ominously, his eye curled up in a disturbingly happy smile.

Sasuke blanched, flinching away from their teacher. "Nothing," he muttered.

Naruto laughed uproariously. "Scaredy-cat!" He jeered. Sasuke shot him a look him a look that could have killed.

Kakashi ignored them, straightening up and dropping the creepy fake-smile. "Ready to head out?"

The three of them nodded, following him as he turned and walked out of the gates. Isa held on to the straps of her backpack as she walked, barely paying attention to where she was going. It was like her head was on a swivel, as soon as they got more than ten feet outside of the village she was looking around as if she'd never seen trees before. When she stumbled over a rock and Sasuke narrowly avoided running into her, he growled.

"Watch where you're walking," he grumbled. She flushed, fidgeting with the straps of her backpack awkwardly.

"Sorry," she said. Her eyes darted away toward the forest around them again, but she shook her head self-consciously, turning her focus toward the road.

He frowned at her. "What's wrong with you?"

She glanced at him, blue eyes wide and confused. "Nothing's wrong with me. What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "You're just acting all weird and ditzy, tripping over rocks and stuff. Like your airhead sister."

She huffed at him. "She's not an airhead! And I'm not acting ditzy! I've just never been outside of the village before. I'm excited, okay?"

He snorted, rolling his eyes. "Okay. Whatever."

Isa crossed her arms over her chest, studiously ignoring him until he'd drifted a sufficient distance away. As soon as Sasuke's attention shifted away from her, she was looking around again with rampant curiosity. Even the path just outside of the village was exciting, though saying she'd never left the village wasn't strictly true.

The Nara clan, in addition to owning a large stretch of forest on the outskirts of the village, also had a secret facility of sorts. Isa had been there once with Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji; their fathers had taken them there when they had begun teaching them the secret arts of their clans. It had been buried deep in the mountains, up a hidden, twisting path, and within had been all manner of medicinal equipment. Isa had been much younger then, and she remembered little of the place other than a few images and a strange sense of unease.

Here, though, it was different. The road was wide, cobblestone fading into mud around the edges before the ground was overtaken by the underbrush that lingered along the treeline. The forest was thick, thicker than the small forests inside the village, and felt distinctly older. They walked along the road for a while as the morning sun climbed higher into the sky, until eventually they passed under a great red torii that arched over the road.

Kakashi paused on the other side. "Well, we're officially outside of Konoha's border zone." He turned to the three genin. "You all know the basics of chakra control, right?" They nodded. "Good. From here out, we're going to be traveling through the forest. Did you learn how to channel your chakra into your feet?"

"So we can go fast, right? Yeah, we learned that," Naruto said.

Kakashi nodded, pleased. "Did you learn how to walk up vertical surfaces using your chakra? Or use your chakra to help you jump?"

"We learned the jumping thing, not the vertical walking," Isa said.

"That's fine. We'll work on that later, then. For now, we're going to jump into the branches and hop along them," Kakashi said. "This is a pretty standard way to travel for most shinobi; it's still faster than using roads, even though we won't be pushing ourselves. Ready?"

Isa directed her focus inward, visualizing the chakra network in her mind. It ran through the human body similarly to blood vessels, and when shinobi channeled their chakra through specific pressure points, they could augment the strength of their abilities. Channeling her chakra into her feet was a relatively simple matter, only requiring a modicum of concentration to maintain, but anything more complex required better chakra control and more intricate knowledge of the chakra pathways. Isa had never been the best at chakra control, that had always been Sakura, but she was by no means bad at it. After a moment, she opened her eyes and nodded at her teacher.

She glanced over at her teammates; Sasuke looked bored, and Naruto was still cheerfully bouncy. Tentatively, Isa reached out with her mind, broadening her chakra senses. Her ability to control her sensory abilities was still nowhere near the strength that her father had, but she could still feel the chakra that Sasuke and Naruto were emitting. Sasuke's seemed relatively stable, though there was still some excess bleeding off. Naruto, on the other hand, had chakra flying everywhere. She winced.

"I think working on chakra control is probably a good idea," she said, mostly to Kakashi, who chuckled.

He turned and leapt onto the lowest branch of a nearby tree. It was an easy, fluid movement, one that spoke of long use. Isa pursed her lips in concentration, and jumped, pushing her chakra to her feet. She flew up toward the branch, landing awkwardly. She wobbled, arms flailing for a moment, before righting herself.

A wide smile split across her face. "That was awesome! Come on, Naruto!" She yelled down to him. Sasuke jumped up beside her, only stumbling slightly. He grinned, jumping to the next branch with more confidence. Naruto, nose wrinkled in concentration, jumped onto the branch. He landed beside Isa, tipping backward dangerously before regaining his balance.

"That wasn't hard at all!" He exclaimed, sounding relieved. "Let's go, Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi nodded, leaping to the next branch, setting a course northwest through the forest. Isa knew that much of the Land of Fire was covered in deciduous forests like this one, occasionally broken by rolling foothills, rivers, and valleys. There were many other villages scattered through the country, mostly farming settlements or rest stops that had sprung up along the merchant highways. Isa vaguely remembered the Land of Fire being described in an old history textbook as the most prosperous of the Five Great Shinobi Countries.

The path they were taking would lead them straight to Suiden Village, cutting through huge swaths of wilderness. As far as Isa could tell, the route they were on wouldn't cross through any villages along the way.

 _'A couple days of traveling with just us for company. We're all going to murder each other.'_

Isa followed Kakashi, jumping from branch to branch. It became easier after a while, the motion gradually becoming more familiar. Naruto and Sasuke seemed to be getting used to it, as well, though Sasuke acted like he had no problem with it from the start. Even he had been wobbling, though, and eventually Isa could tell that it had eased, his landings more solid every time. Naruto's frown of concentration faded after a time, and his jumping became showier; he would jump off of trunks and onto branches that shouldn't have supported his weight, laughing all the while. It wasn't until he nearly impaled himself on a stray branch that he calmed down slightly, falling into place beside his teammates.

After an hour of this, the trees stopping being interesting. They all blended together, a haze of blurred brown and green as Isa flew past them. They stopped briefly around mid-day, sitting up high among the branches. Kakashi produced a handful of nutrient bars from a pocket in his jacket, tossing one to each of the genin.

"Always have some of these with you," he said, waving his half-eaten bar. "You never know when you might get hungry."

Naruto munched on his bar unhappily. "But Kakashi-sensei, these taste like butt," he whined.

"You're not gonna care what it tastes like when it's the only thing keeping you alive," Sasuke retorted, rolling his eyes.

"They could at least make a ramen-flavored kind," Naruto grumbled.

Isa laughed. "What if they made a green tea flavored one? That'd be good!"

Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, or one that tastes like those little chewy fruit things!"

She snapped her fingers. "Yes! What are those called? I can't remember."

"Fruit chews?" Sasuke offered, deadpan.

"No, no, they have an actual name," Isa said, frowning thoughtfully. "I don't know!"

"Maybe you'll remember by the time we get to the village," Kakashi said. "Then you'll have a whole list of flavors to pitch to the Hokage when we get back to Konoha." He stood, tucking his empty wrapper away. "Ready to get going?"

They clambered to their feet, their brief respite over. They took off again, and Isa eventually lost track of time, the sky overhead hidden by a canopy of leaves. The only clue they had were the length of the shadows that slowly stretched out from the trees as they traveled, until the entire forest was dark. Kakashi began angling them further west as if searching for something, finally stopping at the edge of a clearing.

It wasn't huge, but there was a wide area that split the unending forest. Through it ran a stream, babbling brightly. They emerged from the trees as the last of the sunlight was beginning to fade from the sky. The stars weren't yet beginning to shine, but Isa knew they would soon.

"Alright, we'll set up camp here, over by the stream," Kakashi said. "Do we want more nutrient bars for dinner or do we want to try our luck hunting something?"

"Hunting," Sasuke and Naruto replied immediately. They glared at each other as if uncertain if they were comfortable agreeing with one another.

Isa cast a longing look at the sky before turning back and stepping back under the shadows of the trees. She took a deep breath before reaching out with her mind. Shinobi who were classified as 'sensor types' most often used their abilities to detect expelled chakra or specific chakra signatures; extremely useful in tracking other ninja, but less so in sensing chakra on a more general level.

What Isa had found over the years was that chakra was present in all things; all living beings had chakra, as it was a kind of living energy that resided in everything. She could hone in on specific signatures like other sensor types, but if she simply extended her senses, she could feel the chakra of any living thing around her. It was a talent that had made games of hide-and-seek far too easy as a child, though the others had eventually caught on and forbidden her from using it while playing.

She broadened her senses now, pushing past the rosy glow of Naruto's chakra and the cool, icy static of Sasuke's. "There, up that way," she said, pointing. "There's a rabbit hiding near a bush."

Naruto stared at her, agape. "How'd you know that?"

"She's a sensor type," Sasuke said before Isa had a chance to respond. "She can feel other people's chakra." He glanced at her. "Anything else?"

Her eyebrows knit together as she focused, pushing her senses further. The strain on her chakra wasn't excessive, but pushing her mind so far still caused a slight headache behind her eyes. A moment later, she nodded.

"There's a quail further in, but..." she paused, chewing on her bottom lip as she concentrated, "it has babies. Oh, we can't kill it!" She opened her eyes, turning to Sasuke with a pout.

He returned her gaze with a level look. "A rabbit isn't going to feed all four of us."

Her pout intensified. "But there are babies! We can't just murder their mother, they'll be left defenseless!"

Naruto nodded, sticking his bottom lip out in a pout that mirrored Isa's. "Yeah, we can't kill her!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Don't be such babies."

He stalked off into the underbrush, pulling a kunai from the pouch at his waist. Isa's pout disappeared and she glanced at Naruto, shrugging, before silently following after Sasuke. They padded through the darkness, their feet quiet against fallen leaves and dirt. The trees loomed overhead, the shadows inky black beneath them. Isa followed Sasuke, stepping carefully as she moved. The rabbit was just ahead, eating the grass that was growing at the base of a tree.

Sasuke glanced back at her. He put a finger against his lips for a moment before he turned back, rolling his shoulders. The silence stretched out for a long minute, the tension nearly tangible. Isa could feel Naruto hovering behind her, each of them pressed against the bark of a tree. She kept her eyes trained on Sasuke, the flicker of the rabbit's chakra pulsing just ahead of them. When his arm flashed out, the kunai flying unerringly from his hand, she winced. There was a sharp crack as the kunai hit it's mark, and Isa felt the rabbit's life force dim into blackness.

Sasuke moved forward, yanking the kunai out of the rabbit and grabbing the animal by the scruff of it's neck. "Let's go," he said.

"What about the quail?" Naruto asked uncertainly, glancing between Sasuke and Isa.

Sasuke looked back at Isa, who frowned. "Whatever. The nutrient bars and the rabbit will be enough," he said.

Isa's face softened into a smile. She followed Sasuke out of the forest, weaving their way back to the clearing. "Thank you," she muttered quietly. "For not killing the quail. I know it was kind of dumb, but still."

He grunted. "I just didn't feel like killing it, too much work." He was as dismissive as ever, but she still smiled nonetheless. At the back of her mind, the life force of the quail and her babies faded as she moved away, and Isa was content with the knowledge that they were safe.

They moved back to the clearing, and when they broke through the treeline, Isa could see that Kakashi had already set up a rudimentary camp. He'd started a fire near the stream, against a hollow at the bottom of a small hill. His bedroll was laid out, and he was stoking the fire with a stick he'd found. He looked up when they approached.

"We got a rabbit!" Naruto exclaimed. He tossed his backpack to the ground and knelt beside it, yanking his bedroll out from the tangled mess within.

Isa sat nearby, pulling off her own backpack and rummaging within for the bedroll. She pulled it out and unrolled it, laying it flat on the grassy earth. She sat down on top of it, relishing the comfort of finally sitting down. The muscles in her legs were tired, hours of jumping having taken their toll. She stretched her legs out, leaning forward to touch her toes. Her muscles strained, twinging in protest, but she ignored them.

"They never tell you how sore you get just from traveling all day," she said idly.

Naruto had flopped onto his bedroll, but he looked up when she spoke. "Are you sore? Man, I feel great! I could run all day!"

Sasuke snorted. He was seated nearby, next to the stream. From where she was, Isa could see him slicing deftly with a kunai, cutting away the fur of the rabbit. She grimaced.

Kakashi was leaning back against the hill, his hands folded behind his head. He appeared to be lost in thought. "Were you sore at first, Kakashi-sensei?" Isa asked him. He blinked and shook himself, as if emerging from a dream.

"Huh? Oh, sore from jumping all day?" He shrugged. "Yeah, at first. You'll get used to it, though. Soon enough you won't even notice it."

"How long have you been doing ninja stuff for, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, rolling over and propping himself up on his elbows. He watched Kakashi expectantly, his eyes bright in the firelight.

Kakashi thought for a moment. "A little over twenty years, I guess," he replied eventually.

Isa gaped at him. "You can't be that old, though! How old were you when you graduated from the Academy?"

He chuckled at her disbelief. "I graduated when I was five years old."

The three genin froze; even Sasuke stilled, staring at him. "Are you serious? They let a five year-old graduate?" Isa asked, almost scornfully. "You were practically a baby!"

Kakashi shrugged. "Things were different back then," he said. "The Hokage thought that children that young should be able to graduate if they displayed abilities that would qualify them as genin. I happened to be one of those children."

Sasuke scoffed, shaking his head. "Yeah, and then they recruit you into ANBU and force you to kill other shinobi when you're just a kid," he said spitefully.

Isa glanced at him, noting the hard edge of anger in his eyes. "But things have changed since then, right?" She asked, looking back to Kakashi.

"In a way, yes," he replied. "Kids are still allowed to graduate. I mean, look at you three. You're, what, twelve years old? When I was twelve, I'd been a registered shinobi for years, but the Third Hokage decided to change some things when he reclaimed the Kage seat. He wants to protect the younger generation."

Isa laid back on her bedroll, staring up at the stars. "Do you wish you'd had the chance to be a normal kid?" She asked Kakashi, looking up at him.

He smiled from beneath his mask, but his lone eye looked sad. "I don't think I ever would have been a normal child, even if I hadn't been a shinobi."

"Well, I'm glad I'm a ninja!" Naruto exclaimed, his cheerful voice breaking the somber mood. "Now I can prove to everyone that I'm the greatest ninja that's ever lived!"

"The greatest ninja who didn't even catch dinner on his first mission," Sasuke muttered. He turned toward the fire with the skinned rabbit in his hands. He'd gutted it and cleaned it in the stream, and after spitting it on a stick, he held it over the fire.

"Hey, I've got plenty of time to prove how strong I am!" Naruto shot back, rolling onto his back. He folded his arms across his chest. "Besides, it's not like you've done anything that impressive. Oooh, you threw a kunai at a rabbit, that's _so_ cool."

Isa laughed, shaking her head at them. "You two are so dumb! Just be nice to each other!"

Sasuke scoffed. "Because being nice is an important part of being a shinobi."

"It's an important part of being a team!" Isa said, frowning at him over the fire.

"Yeah, and we've been such a great team so far," Sasuke said, sneering slightly.

"We haven't even done anything yet! Just wait, we'll be a good team!" Isa said. Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, this mission is gonna be a cakewalk. Right, Kakashi-sensei?" He looked to Kakashi for affirmation.

Kakashi just chuckled. "We'll see."

Isa turned her gaze up toward the stars, looking at the tiny, bright lights scattered across the sky. There were more stars here than she'd ever seen at home; the lights of the village had always shrouded some of the night sky. Out here, though, it was as if she could see forever into the darkness of night. The stars were endless, glimmering pinpricks of light that were scattered throughout the dark for eternity. She smiled softly, the sounds of the crackling firing and her bickering teammates receding to a dull hum in her ears. It was as if she had barely blinked, but without her realizing it, Isa fell asleep. She slept underneath the stars, drifting away beside the warmth of the fire.

* * *

AN: This chapter took forever to write, and I finished it when I was more than a little tipsy, so if the ending bit makes no sense, then that's my fault. Anyway, this is where we start getting into canon divergence, which I'm pretty excited about. I just really, really didn't want to write the Land of Waves arc again. So hopefully you all are enjoying it so far, and hopefully you continue to enjoy it. Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter Four: The Red Door

_They fight me, vigorous and angry, watch them pounce_

 _Ignite me, licking up the flames they bring about_

* * *

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. Isa Yamanaka and any other original characters are mine._

* * *

Isa was never so relieved to see buildings before. They reached Suiden Village by early afternoon the next day, after a night of fitful rest and an early morning. They hadn't eaten breakfast; Kakashi had run out of nutrient bars the night before and Isa's stomach had been growling loudly since she'd woken up. As they crested a hill, spotting Suiden Village welcome and opening before them, Isa heaved a sigh of happiness.

"Look," she said, almost reverent. "Houses."

"Where does the merchant live?" Naruto asked. He was shading his eyes with a hand, squinting down at the village.

Kakashi produced the assignment form from a pocket and scanned it for a moment. "Says here he lives in Tier Two, which is apparently the northern portion of the village. It says, 'ring the bell by the red door and wait.'"

Isa sighed, planting her hands on her hips. "Well, that's super unclear! Do we know his name?"

"Saburo Oshiro," Kakashi said.

"Maybe we can ask around town?" Naruto suggested. "Someone's gotta know where he lives, right?"

Kakashi shrugged, tucking the assignment form back into his jacket. "I guess we'll find out." He stepped out onto the road that lead into the village, leading the way down the gradual slope. Suiden Village itself was built on a hill in the middle of a long, narrow valley; there was a river cutting through the valley to the north, but the rest of the land was dominated by rice fields. Isa had seen pictures of rice fields before, but she'd never seen them in person. It was like looking across a sea of grass; it shifted gently in the breeze, fields of brilliant green carved apart by raised tracts of earth. Water glistened between the rice stalks, the valley itself forming a perfect basin for the watery fields.

As they neared the village, Isa could begin to pick out the workers in the fields. There were people of all ages scattered through the rice stalks, splashing about in tall boots. A few curious heads raised as they approached, but they quickly lost interest in the little group, going back to their work without a second thought. People paid them even less attention inside the village itself. Isa found herself being jostled by villagers as they passed, their eyes skipping right over her, as if a child wandering around the streets was of little importance.

The village was nowhere as big as Konoha, but there were plenty of people in the street. Vendors had stalls set up along the road, hawking fresh vegetables or fish to passerby. Few people stopped to buy anything, Isa noticed. They all seemed to simply push past one another, paying no mind to anything that didn't directly get in their way.

Even the buildings seemed to have sprung up with no regard for each other; they were old, some dilapidated, with peeling paint and missing tiles on the roofs. Everything was clustered close together along the main road, narrow side streets spiraling off further into the village. Every time Isa tried to peer down one, she found that they all twisted away, curving around the hill that the village was built on.

"Why does everyone look so sad?" Naruto asked, his voice surprisingly quiet. He watched the villagers as they passed by, frowning.

They did look sad, Isa realized. It was as if they were hollowed out on the inside; their eyes were dark, shadowed, and their cheeks were gaunt, even the children's. There were children everywhere, too, which only began to seem strange when Isa noticed just how many there were. They were running through the street, sitting on corners, playing kickball in alleyways.

"Why aren't they all in school?" She wondered aloud, sticking close to Naruto as they made their way up the street behind Kakashi. Sasuke walked slightly behind them in customary silence, his hands buried in his pockets.

The main road wound around the curve of the hill that the village was built on, and as they moved further into the village, the small, run-down buildings were replaced with larger, well-kept houses. It was as if they'd stepped into a different place entirely; within a single short stretch of road, the crowd on the street faded away. Instead of sunken eyes and bony arms, people here were lively, dressed in traditional garb, talking cheerfully with one another along the street.

The buildings here were different, too. Gone were the tall, ramshackle apartments and shops from before, and instead there were long, clean homes, shaded by spreading trees. The road was cobbled properly, no missing stones or pits of mud along the way. Shops were open and inviting, with wide front windows and smiling shopkeepers. There were no children, either.

"These people know that the other half of their village is, like, poor and dirty, right?" Isa said, glancing back down the street from where they'd come. "Why aren't they helping?"

Naruto shrugged. "Rich people don't like poor people. They're always all, 'if you want our respect, you have to earn it.'" He scowled, shaking his head. "I think you should just help people out because you're a good person!"

"Yeah, let's all be friends and help each other. Do you wanna hold hands and skip, too?" Sasuke asked mockingly, smirking when Naruto glared at him.

Isa rolled her eyes and turned to Kakashi, only to find he had disappeared. She frowned, scanning the crowd for his telltale spiky white hair. Spotting him, she elbowed her way between her teammates. "Quit arguing, let's go."

Naruto and Sasuke both grumbled, still glaring at one another, but they followed her over to their teacher. They found him talking to an elderly man, chatting amiably. Isa hovered behind him until Kakashi waved goodbye and the old man wandered off.

"Did you find out where the merchant lives?" She asked.

Kakashi nodded. "He said we need to go up another block, and then down the street on our left. Apparently we can't miss the red door."

He started down the street again and Isa followed, Naruto and Sasuke trailing after them. They continued up the street and took the first left turn onto a side street. The road was narrower than the main street, but it was by no means small. Instead of storefronts, the road was lined with fences now. They were all white stucco, too tall to see over, designed for privacy. Along the fences were large round doors, placed intermittently, and each of them was a different color.

"I guess it would be hard to miss a red door here," Isa said, looking at a nearby one that was painted bright blue. They were all tall and made out of wood, painted brightly to stand out from the fences. She glanced around the corner and pointed. "Is that it?" She asked. Just around the corner, on the opposite side of the road, was a red door set into the fence. Beside it hung a small bell.

Kakashi shrugged. "I'm not seeing any other red doors." He approached it and rang the bell, waiting with his hands tucked in his pockets. Isa, Naruto, and Sasuke crowded behind him, staring impatiently at the red door.

After a long moment, it opened, and a tall, well-muscled man peeked through. He frowned down at them. "Can I help you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly. He was very tall, his shoulders wider than seemed humanly possible, and his entire body seemed to be wrapped in thick muscle. Isa felt proportionally tiny as she gazed up at him.

Kakashi laughed awkwardly. "Uh, hi, we're looking for Saburo Oshiro, we were sent by the Hokage in Konoha to fulfill the assignment he filed there."

The man sized them up for a moment, his dark eyes roving over Kakashi first, then over each of the three genin. He sniffed, seemingly unimpressed. "Alright, come on in. Mr. Oshiro is in the back garden, I'll take you to him."

Kakashi nodded. The man stepped back, opening the red door further. Isa craned her neck, but couldn't see beyond Kakashi as he stepped through the doorway.

She followed him inside, into a wide courtyard. The white fence surrounded the house on all sides, separating it from the plots of land on either side. There was a wide paved walkway that lead up to the front of the house, and on either side it was framed by thick ferns, a single tree planted in the center of each side. The trees were large, though Isa suspected that they were not terribly old, as their wide-spreading branches were still relatively thin. Their leaves were a light shade of gold that faded into white along the edges, and they fluttered softly in the breeze, lending a quiet, peaceful rustle to the air.

The house itself Isa could only think to describe as austere; it wasn't tall, but it's presence was rather intimidating nonetheless. It was primarily composed of stucco, much like the fences surrounding the land, but this stucco was slightly off-white. The accenting woods that framed the edges of the house were all dark, probably oak, and they stood out in sharp contrast to the rest of the building. Combined with the dark foliage at the front of the house, the overall presentation was rather more lavish than Isa had been expecting.

It wasn't the nicest house she had ever seen, all of the influential families in Konoha had sprawling estates, the largest of which belonged to the Sarutobi clan. Their estate was relatively modest, but it was still much bigger than this home, and it had an air of stateliness that this place did not possess, despite it's fresh paint and carefully-tended gardens. Or perhaps because of that, Isa wasn't sure; but some part of this house felt fabricated, as if the image of luxury that it projected wasn't as much a reality as it's owners would like people to believe. As they followed the muscular man up the short stairs on the front porch, Sasuke appeared similarly unimpressed.

 _'That's right, I always forget that Sasuke's clan used to be one of the most powerful in the village. Their estate was probably just as beautiful as the Sarutobi's, I bet Sasuke's used to living in a really nice house like this.'_

Isa's family could hardly be considered wealthy, certainly not compared to the more prominent clans in Konoha, but she'd been raised in a highly respected family, and had been exposed to some of the most powerful and wealthiest of Konoha's shinobi for as long as she could remember. Naruto, on the other hand, had grown up alone, and Isa belatedly realized that he'd likely never seen a house like this before. He was looking around in awe, a wide grin splitting his face. As their guide opened the front door and stepped inside, Naruto bounded in after him.

"What's your name?" He asked the man. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

"I'm Goro Yoshida." The man seemed vaguely disconcerted by Naruto's enthusiasm, but he shrugged it off after a moment. He held the door open as everyone filed inside, shutting it behind them after they'd all gathered in the foyer.

"So you work for Mr. Oshiro?" Kakashi asked him casually, hands still jammed into his pockets.

Goro nodded as he turned and began leading them deeper into the house. Isa followed along behind Kakashi, glancing into rooms that they passed. Everything was well-furnished, the furniture new and impeccably clean; it had all clearly been designed and styled by someone with a very particular aesthetic in mind. The rooms were large and airy, the ceilings high and there was at least one wall in each room that was dominated by floor-to-ceiling windows.

Finding the interior of the house largely uninteresting, Isa turned her attention to Goro instead. He was clearly a man accustomed to intensive labor, likely had spent most of his time out working the fields if his muscles and sun-tanned skin were any indication. He kept his dark hair close-cropped, and his face, though she could see little of it as he marched ahead of them, was made up of hard angles, his mouth constantly pressed into a frown. He never glanced back at them, but the curve of his shoulders was tense, and he was radiating a powerful sense of caution.

He eventually stopped before a set of sliding shoji doors; the paper was thin enough that Isa could see a vague dark shape moving from within the room, but she could discern little else. The doors themselves were beautiful, the ornate design of a landscape scene curled across them, standing strangely out of place among the clean lines of the rest of the house. Goro opened the doors and stepped inside, bowing.

"There's a shinobi team from Konoha here to see you, Mr. Oshiro," he said, still bowing.

Isa stood on her tip-toes to see past him, peering into the room. It was a large space, the dark wood floor littered with cushions and a handful of low tables. There were potted plants in every corner, and the walls themselves were made entirely out of shoji doors. They were all flung open to reveal a lavish garden outside, the gentle trickling of a stream audible even from where Isa was standing. There was a soft light that suffused the entire room, lending it a comfortable warmth that the rest of the house notably lacked.

She couldn't see Saburo Oshiro from where she was, but when he spoke, his voice was cheery. "Of course! Thank you, Goro. Come in, please," he said.

Goro straightened and stepped aside, allowing them to enter the room. Isa followed Kakashi inside and was greeted by Saburo's welcoming smile. He was a thin man, slightly frail, but he couldn't have been much older than Isa's parents. His dark hair was still thick and his eyes were bright and lively when he smiled at them, but Isa noted his bony wrists and the tiny wince as he rose to greet them.

"Thank you for responding to my request so promptly," he said, offering a hand to Kakashi to shake. "Please, sit down, we do not stand on formality here. I'm Saburo Oshiro."

"Kakashi Hatake. Nice to meet you, Mr. Oshiro. This is Naruto, Isa, and Sasuke, my genin squad." Kakashi shook Saburo's hand before indicating the three standing behind him. He took a seat opposite Saburo at one of the low tables; Isa, Naruto, and Sasuke sat beside him, waiting for Saburo to settle himself across from them.

"A pleasure to meet all of you. Would you like some tea? I can have Goro prepare some," Saburo offered, glancing between each of them.

Kakashi shook his head. "We're fine, thank you."

Saburo nodded graciously and clasped his hands together. "Yes, I'm sure you've all had a long trip and would like to rest. I'll try to keep this relatively short, then. I'm afraid that in terms of information, I don't have much more than what you've gathered from the assignment form."

"You believe that your family is being targeted for an attack, yes?" Kakashi asked. "Why?" He asked when Saburo nodded.

Saburo hesitated slightly. "Well, my position in the village naturally puts somewhat of a target on me, simply by nature. I am a merchant, my job is to buy rice from the farmers and sell it to buyers in larger villages. The farmers, of course, get a cut of the profits, but the majority of the money does go to me, as I paid for the rice on top of the shipping, along with various other expenses. Unfortunately, being the person ultimately responsible for giving the farmers their cut puts me in an awkward position, as we are in the middle of a particularly poor string of harvests."

"Is there something wrong with the rice crop?" Kakashi asked.

Saburo nodded sadly. "The past few springs have been very dry seasons, and without the yearly rains, our fields do not flood. When they flood, important minerals are deposited into the soil from silt in the river, and without those minerals, the rice does not grow as well. This is the third harvest in a row that has produced an exceptionally poor yield, and I do what I can to make a profit off of it, but the quality simply isn't there."

Kakashi frowned. "Have you explained this to the farmers?"

"I've tried, but they won't listen," Saburo said, a defeated tone in his voice. "The people of this village are very proud of their traditions, and they cling to them stubbornly. They believe that it is my job to sell the rice and get them their money, and they refuse to listen to me when I try to explain to them why I can't do that. The situation has escalated recently; I've received several threatening notes and a few weeks ago I could have sworn there was an intruder in my home one night."

"And you have no idea who might be behind it?" Kakashi asked.

Saburo shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I haven't gone to the lower district since I started receiving the threatening notes, but both my bodyguards, Goro and his brother Youta, say that they haven't heard anything about who might be behind it."

Kakashi nodded slowly, thoughtful. "If you have bodyguards already, why do you need us? Unless you really think these people are out to kill you?"

"I'm loathe to think that these people are so determined that they'd go so far as to cause me physical harm," Saburo said. "I primarily hired you to discover who it is plotting against me; once they're uncovered I believe they'll back down. At least, that's what I hope. However, even with bodyguards, I cannot protect my son. He is the most important thing I have left in my life, and I knew that if I hired a genin squad then there would be children around his age to protect him."

"You think whoever is targeting you will go after your son?" Kakashi asked. Isa could hear the surprise in his voice. It did seem rather extreme to target someone's innocent child over a monetary dispute, but she thought of the haggard, haunted expressions of the people in the lower village. There was likely nothing they wouldn't do to save themselves.

Saburo's smile was a sad one, and he sighed, suddenly looking much older than he was. "My son is all I have left, Mr. Hatake. I lost both my wife and my daughter to an illness that ravaged the village nearly a decade ago." He gestured to their surroundings with a wave of his hand. "All of this, everything I've accomplished, means nothing without my family, and I have so little family now. I have to protect him. I don't expect you to understand, it is a father's love that drives me, and I suspect you are too young still to have any children."

Kakashi nodded. "My concerns have always been for my village, not my personal life. I understand the need to protect the people you care about, though." He glanced over at Isa, Naruto, and Sasuke. "You three will be able to handle protecting Mr. Oshiro's son, right?"

They each nodded. "He'll be safe with us!" Naruto declared, grinning widely at Saburo.

"Are we going to be shadowing him while we're here? Or will we be undercover?" Isa asked.

 _'Undercover would probably be easier, but what cover story would we use? And how would we operate? I guess we could be relatives, visiting from out of town. It's not great but I'm not sure Naruto would be very effective at shadowing, so it might be our best option.'_

She frowned at Saburo, taking in his dark hair and eyes once more. Only Sasuke would be able to really pass as a relative, she and Naruto would be dead giveaways with their blond hair and blue eyes.

Saburo looked at Kakashi and shrugged. "I must admit, I'm not overly familiar with standard shinobi policy in situations like this. That decision is entirely yours, I'll support whatever you think will provide my son the best protection."

"Undercover would work best," Kakashi said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Sasuke, you'll be a relative visiting for a little while, you bear some passing resemblance to Mr. Oshiro and his family."

Sasuke grumbled slightly, folding his arms across his chest, but he said nothing. Kakashi continued, "Naruto and Isa will be my niece and nephew, I'll be your doting uncle who's taking you to live out in the countryside for a season."

Naruto frowned, nose wrinkled at he looked over at Isa. "But Kakashi-sensei, Isa and I don't look that alike," he said. He was right, of course. His hair was a darker shade of blond than hers, more golden than platinum, and his eyes were a brighter, more vivid blue.

Kakashi waved a hand airily. "It's close enough, you can pass as relatives."

"What about you, Kakashi-sensei?" Isa asked, pointing at his spiky white hair.

He paused, thinking for a moment. "Weird genetics?" He offered lamely, shrugging. Sasuke sighed, shaking his head in irritation.

Saburo looked at them uncertainly. "So you three genin will protect my son while Mr. Hatake investigates the people behind the threats upon my life?" He asked.

"Seems like the best plan for right now," Kakashi said. "Does your son have school that these three can also attend? It may help make their presence less noticeable."

Saburo nodded. "Yes, he should be getting back from school shortly."

Isa thought back to all of the listless children they'd pass in the lower section of the village. "How come there are so many children out on the streets, then?" She asked. Everyone turned to stare at her. "I just noticed it on the way here," she said, tugging at the end of her ponytail. "There were a lot of kids back near the gates. I thought it was weird."

"Ah," was Saburo's response. He shook his head sadly. "There are many children, yes. An unfortunate side-effect of the illness that took my wife and daughter from me. It was a particularly nasty disease, it affected healthy adults the most. Many children were orphaned because of it, and now they have nowhere to go and no parents to send them to school. So instead they play in the streets and pickpocket money off of travelers passing through."

"Oh," Isa said quietly, mouth pulled down into a frown. "That's sad."

Saburo nodded in agreement. "It is. I would love nothing more than to help those children, but I cannot do that if I can't help my own family first." He looked at her pointedly, holding her gaze until she nodded in understanding. His face relaxed into a smile as he continued, "I'm sure you didn't bring along extra clothing, but I believe my son's old things will fit you two boys. As for you, Miss Isa, was it? I still have some of my daughter's clothes, they might fit you. I can have Goro show you to your rooms now if you'd like to get settled in."

Kakashi nodded and Saburo called Goro in. The large man entered the room, standing near the door with his hands folded respectfully.

"Yes, Mr. Oshiro?"

"While I finish up talking with Mr. Hatake here, will you show these three to their room?" Saburo asked, indicating Isa, Naruto, and Sasuke. "And bring them some of Ryou's clothes. And Michiko's."

Goro nodded, bowing as the three genin rose. "Of course, Mr. Oshiro." He straightened as they approached, standing aside to let them file out of the room. Isa followed behind with Naruto and Sasuke as Goro lead them back down a series of hallways. He lead them toward the front of the house, then turned down another hallway that branched off of the main one, stopping in front of a door.

"This is where you'll be staying," he said, opening the door for them. "I'll bring over the clothes that Mr. Oshiro requested, they'll be waiting for you outside the door whenever you need them."

Isa bowed respectfully, smiling up at him as she straightened up. "Thank you, Mr. Yoshida."

"There's no need to bow, you're Mr. Oshiro's honored guests," Goro said. "I'm simply here to serve you as best I can. If you'll excuse me." He bowed before turning away and vanishing down the hallway, leaving them outside of their new room.

"He's kinda grumpy, isn't he?" Naruto commented. He pushed the door open further and stepped into their room. It was spacious but sparsely furnished; there were two twin beds, a wardrobe, and a small couch, but no decorations and only a single window. It looked out on a narrow walkway along the side of the house, bamboo strategically placed to hide the tall white fence that ran around the estate.

Sasuke shouldered past Naruto and tossed his backpack onto one of the beds. "This one's mine."

Isa glanced at Naruto as she pulled off her own backpack. "Do you want to just switch off every night? That way we can both get the bed?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, that's a good idea! You can have it tonight, I'll take the couch."

Isa smiled at him and set her backpack at the foot of the second twin bed. She sat down beside it, feet swinging beneath her. "So what do you guys think?" She asked, indicating the room around them. "About all this?"

"There's gotta be more going on here," Sasuke said, sitting down on his bed and leaning back against the wall. "These people are targeting him for a reason."

"You don't think the farmers are just really desperate?" Naruto asked, frowning. "I mean, if they're poor and hungry they're probably willing to do anything."

"Mr. Oshiro is a perfect target," Isa said, meeting Sasuke's eyes and shrugging. "He's the middle man, the farmers rely on him to give them their money, and when he's sitting up here in a big, fancy house and telling them that he doesn't have their money for them, it makes sense that people would be upset."

Sasuke shook his head, dark bangs hanging in his eyes. "Oshiro isn't the only rice merchant in the village, there's gotta be a specific reason he's the one being targeted. If the poor rice quality is widespread, then all the merchants would be being harassed. So what makes Oshiro special?"

Isa threaded her fingers through her end of her ponytail, frowning thoughtfully. "You might be right. But still, that's not part of the scope of our mission, is it? It doesn't matter why he's being targeted, it's just our job to protect him."

"He seems like a nice guy, too," Naruto said. "D'you really think he's intentionally scamming people out of their money or something?"

Sasuke shrugged. "All I know is, someone out there wants to kill Oshiro, and you don't swear to end someone's life lightly. Usually don't swear to kill 'nice' people, either."

Naruto sighed and sat down beside Isa on her bed, running a hand through his hair. It stood even more on-end, tangled and wild. "Man, I thought we'd be doing real work! Not babysitting some kid at school."

"What, you thought the Hokage would actually give us a mission that was important?" Sasuke scoffed. "This is just another waste of our time."

Isa pulled her legs up to her chest, resting her chin on top of her knees. "Just because we have to protect Mr. Oshiro's son doesn't mean we can't investigate things, too. We just have to be smart about it."

"You think we can just solve the mystery with the power of _teamwork_?" Sasuke asked, raising a derisive eyebrow at her.

She rolled her eyes at him. "No, we're gonna solve the mystery with the power of _intelligence._ Jerk," she added with a grin.

Naruto nodded emphatically. "Guys, this is the kind of thing we've been training for! This is our chance to finally prove that we're strong enough to be real ninja!" He smiled brightly at them. "I know we can do this."

Isa giggled. "Exactly! We're gonna make great fake siblings."

"Yeah, we will! We're gonna be the best fake siblings ever!"

She laughed.

* * *

A/N: Well, that took way longer than it was supposed to. Sorry about that! I got kinda caught up in real life things and I had to put this on the backburner for a while. But here's chapter four, complete with all it's exposition! I know this chapter drags a bit, but we've just gotta slog through it to get to the good stuff. The next chapter should pick up a bit, and I'll try to get it written up faster than this one. Anyway, thank you all so much for the support, you guys have been fantastic!


	5. Chapter Five: Fancy Tricks

_What am I to do with the thunder?_  
 _Don't know who to cast it upon_

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 _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. Isa Yamanaka and any other original characters are mine._

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A knock on the door woke her up. Isa jolted upright in bed, one hand instinctively going to her waist, searching for a kunai pouch that wasn't there. She frowned at the door, blinking sleep from her eyes. Her hair was down, tangled from sleep, and her normal outfit was replaced with an oversized shirt and leggings.

Still half-asleep, she reached out with her mind. The chakra presence outside the door definitely wasn't a shinobi, the chakra levels were far too low, the kind that only normal people had. It wasn't an unfamiliar presence, either, a sort of murky, solid, earthy force that radiated quietly.

"Who is it?" Sasuke's voice pulled her back to reality. He was sitting up in his bed, squinting at her in the faint morning light.

"It's Goro," she said. Yawning, she pushed back the sheets and stumbled out of bed, moving over to the door.

Sasuke beat her there, looking significantly more awake than she felt. She hovered just behind him, peering past his shoulder as he opened the door. Goro was standing on the other side of the door, holding a pile of clothes in his arms.

He offered them to Sasuke. "These are from Ryou, they should fit you two. And some of Michiko's old clothes are in this box for you, Miss," he said, nudging a cardboard box that was on the ground beside him with a foot.

Sasuke grunted and took the clothes, turning to toss them onto his bed. Isa smiled sleepily up at Goro, who was shifting slightly, as if waiting to be dismissed so that he could leave.

"Thank you, Goro," she said. He nodded and backed away, offering a slight bow before he turned and vanished down the hallway. She gave a little wave to his retreating back and swallowed another yawn.

Bending down, she picked up the cardboard box that was sitting beside the door and carried it into the room. Sasuke was plucking clothes from the pile on his bed, he paid her no mind as she set the box on the foot of her bed and sat down next to it. Naruto was still asleep, limbs flung haphazardly across the couch, snoring quietly.

"You can go shower first," Isa said. She ran fingers through her hair, wincing when they caught on tangles. Sasuke nodded and left the room with new clothes wadded in his arms, shutting the door behind him.

Isa moved to sit in the center of her bed, folding her legs and carefully straightening her back. Resisting the urge to yawn again, she shut her eyes, directing her focus inward. Sleep still pulled at her, another hour of rest an alluring possibility, but she pushed it away. She settled into a meditative state, breathing deeply as she allowed her mind to expand.

Meditation was the first thing Isa had been taught when she was very young, before she'd learned the secrets of her clan techniques. Her father had sat Ino and her down in the garden every morning for an entire month until they'd mastered meditation. Or at least mastered it as well as five year olds could. A twinge of sadness pulled in her chest; she missed her family. They'd only been gone two days now, but it was the longest Isa had ever been away from home, and certainly the farthest she'd ever been from Konoha. Nothing around her was familiar, and as exciting as it was to see new things, it left her uncomfortably aware of the fact that she was on her own out in the world with only her team to tie her back to her home.

Not that she didn't like her team, Kakashi was strange, but funny in a way that made her instantly comfortable; Naruto was loud and a little obnoxious sometimes, but she'd discovered that he was also kind and determined and brave; and Sasuke was... well, he was Sasuke, temperamental and prickly and also smart and headstrong and, she thought, much more than people thought he was. But despite all that, she was still alone. She had no family out here, no real friends, no one who knew her, and it was a strange feeling. It felt as if she was afloat, cast out to sea.

She shook herself, frowning as she pushed away her unhappy thoughts. Instead, she focused again on expanding her awareness. She pushed her mind out past her body, letting her senses spiral out around her. Her reach was farther when she was trying to focus on a specific target, but in moment like this, she simply let herself feel the energy of life that surrounded her.

When she'd started in the gardens, she could only feel her sister and her father beside her. Now, she could feel everyone in the house, and in the houses next door, and in every house along the street. She could feel the life forces of every living being in a mile radius if she really tried. Granted, most of them were little more than flares of chakra, dull and muted compared to Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi, but she could feel them nonetheless.

She could have gone deeper if she'd wanted, begun pulling at the threads of people's thoughts, but she didn't. She had little interest in the private thoughts of villagers; instead, she simply brushed over them, mapping out the pattern of life around her. It was meditation like this that she enjoyed, the kind that allowed time to slip past without notice. She relaxed, letting the ebb and flow of life sweep her away for a while.

It was nearly half an hour before she stirred, rising from her meditative trance as she felt movement throughout the village increase. The sun had fully risen now and the day had begun, though Naruto was still sleeping peacefully, Isa could feel the others in the house begin to wake up. She opened her eyes and slumped, releasing her ramrod straight posture with a sigh of relief. Eying the box of clothing in front of her with a quizzical gaze, she slid toward the end of the bed, reaching out for the box.

 _'I hope Mr. Oshiro's daughter was about my size, otherwise I won't have anything to wear.'_

She grabbed the box, carefully prying open the cardboard flaps on the top. It felt fragile, and a layer of dust coated the top of it, as if it hadn't been touched in a long time. The top sprung open with a puff of dust; Isa coughed lightly, leaning over to peer into the box. Inside, there was a pile of clothes, folded neatly and stacked with care. She brushed gentle fingers over the fabric of a dress before pulling it out of the box.

It unfolded in her hands, soft yellow cloth, sprays of daisies sprinkled across it. The short sleeves were fluttery, and the skirt felt light, as if one might float away in it. Isa smiled and folded it over her arm, tiptoeing past Naruto again and shutting the bedroom door behind her. Her bare feet were silent against the hardwood floor as she moved down the hallway, stopping to knock on the bathroom door.

It opened, revealing Sasuke with wet hair and a disgruntled expression. Isa pressed her lips together to avoid laughing. He was wearing a simple black shirt and grey pants, loose at the top and tightening as they moved down his legs. It wasn't a bad outfit, but Sasuke's dripping wet hair and aura of extreme displeasure made the overall effect rather comical.

He glowered at her. "Don't."

She bit down on her bottom lip to stifle a grin. "I was just going to ask if you were almost done," she said, the picture of innocence.

He brushed past her, walking back toward the bedroom. "All yours."

She slipped into the bathroom and shut the door behind her with a quiet giggle. The bathroom, compared to the rest of the house, was fairly utilitarian. There was a shower, a separate bathtub, a small washcloset for the toilet, and a sink. Above the bathtub was a window, thrown open to welcome the morning air. Steam still drifted near the ceiling, and there were traces of condensation around the edges of the mirror that sat above the sink, but the air itself had a slight chill to it, swept in through the window.

Isa wasted no time, shivering as she jumped into the shower. There was still plenty of hot water, she could have showered for as long as she'd liked, but she hurried regardless. There was a nervous energy pooling in her stomach, part excitement, part apprehension. This was the first time she'd ever done anything undercover, or anything real, at least. She'd learned how to fit into crowds, how to appear completely unassuming, that was all standard at the Academy. She'd even had special kunoichi classes that had taught her how to pick up on local traditions, how to dress appropriately so as not to arouse suspicion. She's learned it all, but until now she'd never had to actually use that knowledge.

She stood in front of the sink and pulled on the yellow dress. It fell to her knees, swishing against her skin like a gentle breeze. She wiped steam off of the mirror and eyed her reflection critically. Her fingers itched to pull her hair up, but she pressed her hands firmly against her legs.

 _'I'm not being me now, I have to be someone else. Maybe this me doesn't wear her hair up.'_

It felt strange to leave the bathroom with her hair swinging against her back. It was damp, hanging heavily, a sheet of gold that began to wave just barely as it dried. It was making her oddly nervous, as if she didn't quite fit in her own skin. It felt as if she was playing at being a normal girl, a girl who wore dresses and left her hair down, a girl who didn't walk around with knives strapped to her body.

She slipped back into the bedroom and hovered near the door. Instinctively, she reached up to tuck her hair behind one ear.

"What do you think?" she asked, smoothing the fabric of the dress self-consciously. Sasuke was seated on his bed once more, examining a kunai with an expert gaze. He glanced up at her when she spoke, his dark eyes scanning her, inscrutable.

"You going without kunai?" he asked after a moment, eyes returning to his kunai.

Isa looked down at herself, frowning thoughtfully. "I could keep some strapped to my thigh? There's not a lot of room to hide things in a dress."

Sasuke shook his head with a scoff. "Don't wear it, then."

She pouted at him, shifting awkwardly, and opened her mouth to respond when Naruto stretched and yawned enormously. He sat up on the couch, rubbing his eyes.

"Morning," he mumbled. Opening his eyes, he squinted over at them, face brightening when he spotted Isa. "Hey! You're in a dress!"

He sounded so excited that she smiled despite herself. "Uh, yeah. I know it's not very practical," she glanced at Sasuke, who was studiously ignoring them, "but I figured I might as well, since we're undercover."

Naruto nodded, standing and running a hand through his hair. Half of it was smashed to his head from sleep and the other half stood out, insanely spiky, an absolute mess. He grinned at her. "Yeah, of course! You look really nice, we're gonna make great-looking siblings!"

She giggled. "Not if you don't go shower. You might want to hurry, everyone else is already awake."

He frowned at her, eyebrows knitting together. "What- oh, right. I always forget you do that 'sensing' thing." On 'sensing' he waggled his fingers in the air dramatically.

"What, are you scared the spooky sensing girl will read your mind?" Isa asked, grinning at him.

He blinked, as if the thought hadn't even occurred to him, but recovered quickly, laughing it off. "It'd be kinda pointless, I already say everything I think anyway." Turning, he carelessly produced an outfit from the pile of clothing on Sasuke's bed and made his way toward the door.

"Be back in a bit," he called over his shoulder before he disappeared down the hallway.

Isa felt herself deflate slightly in his absence; she glanced out the window, watching the ivy outside flutter in the morning breeze. It had grown up the side of the wall that surrounded the estate, and she imagined that in it's early years, the vines had been thin, branching out and snaking across the wall. Now, the wall could scarcely be seen beneath it, hidden beneath a curtain of dark, glossy leaves. It was a pretty sight, framed by the window in front of her, rising up against the pale blue sky. Perhaps it was her nerves, or maybe just homesickness, but it made her sad; it was as if she was certain she'd never see this image again, would never experience another moment quite like this. She'd never go on another first mission again, would never look out the same window or wear the same dress or be the same new, awkward team that they were today.

There was a word for it, it drifted at the edge of her memory, just out of reach. After a long minute, Isa shook her head and sighed, flicking her hair out of her face. She turned away from the open window and moved over to her bed, searching through her backpack intently. She was already wearing a pair of spandex shorts underneath her dress, because as pretty as it was, it was impractical. She wouldn't be able to do anything if she couldn't jump or climb or run. She pulled a small leg holster from her backpack with a triumphant smile before pulling up her skirt and strapping it to her inner thigh.

 _'At least this way I'll be able to carry some kunai with me. Hopefully I won't need them, but if the situation is as serious as Mr. Oshiro thinks it is, then it's better to be safe.'_

She fished a handful of kunai out of her backpack and tucked them into her leg holster. Letting her skirt fall back down, she surveyed herself carefully.

"Can you tell?" She asked, looking up at Sasuke.

He glanced up from his kunai with a raised eyebrow. "Tell what?" He asked, in the tone of someone who was supremely disinterested in the conversation.

"My leg holster. Can you see it?" She swished the skirt back and forth, watching him expectantly.

He frowned her at her. "No."

She smiled, satisfied. "Good." She hesitated for a second. "Do you want to wait for Naruto or should we go get breakfast now?"

Sasuke sighed and tucked his kunai away, apparently resigning himself to the fact that she wasn't going to leave him alone. "Let's just go, he can catch up."

Isa lead the way out of the bedroom, belatedly realizing that she had no idea where the kitchen was. There were four other chakra presences in the house, two belonging to Sasuke and Naruto, one belonging to Ryou, Mr. Oshiro's son, and the fourth was unfamiliar, though there was a steadiness to it that Isa recognized.

 _'Mr. Oshiro said Goro has a brother, didn't he? Youta, I think? That must be him.'_

The unfamiliar presence did feel similar to Goro's, they shared a sense of levelness, of solidity. However, where Goro felt like earth, this person – Youta – felt like sun-baked wheat, warm and bright. Sasuke stood at her back, waiting. When she glanced back at him, he quirked an eyebrow as if to ask, 'do you even know where you're going?'

"This way," she said, starting off down the hallway with more certainty than she felt. She knew that Ryou and Youta were together, closer to the front of the house, and she was banking on the fact that they were probably in the kitchen, given the early hour. She followed the chakra presences and found the kitchen with little trouble. A tall, broad-shouldered man who she assumed was Youta was buttering toast and speaking to someone just out of eyesight.

Isa knocked on the doorjamb and entered, smiling uncertainly. "Good morning," she said. Sasuke entered the room behind her, lingering near the doorway while she stepped further into the kitchen. "I don't think we've met, I'm Isa Yamanaka, one of the shinobi Mr. Oshiro requested. And this is one of my teammates, Sasuke Uchiha." She gestured at Sasuke, who nodded tersely at Youta.

Youta smiled at them. It was a bright smile, and it overtook his entire face, even his eyes curling up cheerfully. "I was wondering when I'd get you meet you guys! I'm Youta, I'm sure you've already met Goro, my brother."

Isa nodded, glancing over at the other person in the room. It was Ryou, who was leaning against a nearby windowsill, watching them. They'd met him briefly the night before at dinner, but Isa hadn't been able to get a good look at him from the other end of the table. He was taller than her, and lanky, probably a couple of years older, by her estimate. He had an angular face, dark hair, and a pair of bright green eyes that seemed to sparkle impishly when she met his gaze. His face relaxed into an easy grin and Isa looked away quickly, flushing.

"Uh, yes," she said, scrambling to pick up the thread of conversation again. "We met him last night. You're Mr. Oshiro's personal guards, right?" Youta nodded. "What do you do, exactly? Just follow Mr. Oshiro around all the time?"

"Not really. At least I don't," Youta said, gesturing for them to sit down. Isa took a seat at the small, round table tucked into the corner, but Sasuke remained in the doorway, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. "The 'guard duty', I guess you'd call it, is mostly left to Goro. He's the stronger of us," Youta continued. "Mostly I look after the house, run errands, keep Ryou out of trouble." He shot Ryou a stern look that was only partly serious.

Ryou raised his hands, his grin turning mischievous. "Hey, I apologized for running off the last time. Besides, I came back, didn't I?"

Youta rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Just try and behave while the shinobi are here, won't you? They're here to help."

Ryou sighed, but it seemed more out of melodrama than actual resentment. "Fine, I'll be good. Promise." He glanced at Isa as he said this and winked cheekily. It was so unexpected that she simply sat there, nonplussed, as Ryou pushed himself away from the windowsill and moved toward the doorway. "We gonna go? Gotta get to school and be good little students," he said, voice heavy with derision.

"We're waiting on our teammate," Sasuke said. He seemed entirely unimpressed with Ryou's easy confidence, meeting the older boy's gaze levelly.

 _'I think that's the first time I've heard him actually refer to Naruto as part of the team. Or talk about us like we're a team at all, actually.'_

She smiled up at him, a strange sort of pride swelling in her chest. "We can't leave without Naruto," she said, meeting Ryou's eyes again, refusing to look away even as she felt her cheeks start heating up again.

He held her gaze for a long moment, but his eyes were sharper now, evaluative beneath the charm. "Right, Naruto, he's the blonde kid, right?" Isa and Sasuke both nodded. "And you three are really shinobi? Aren't you a bit young?"

Sasuke visibly bristled but Isa just blinked up at Ryou, perplexed. "We're older than most Academy graduates, actually. My father graduated when he was nine, back when there wasn't an age restriction on graduates. Now we're not allowed to graduate until we're twelve."

Ryou blinked, taken aback. He surveyed Sasuke and Isa again, and Isa could practically see him re-evaluating them in his mind. "So you guys actually will be able to help my father? I didn't expect... I mean, you're just kids!" He shook his head, running a hand through his hair.

"We've been training for this our entire lives," Sasuke said, his scowl curling with the slightest hint of a sneer. "You don't want to underestimate us."

Ryou nodded slowly, and Isa saw the first hint of – not apprehension, but caution – in his eyes. "I guess I'm lucky I've got three of you looking out for me, then."

Isa, who had kept her senses alert, stood up as Naruto's presence approached. He was unmistakable, his chakra brighter and more turbulent than anything else around him. "Time to go," she said, just as Naruto rounded the corner.

He smiled brightly, hair still hanging damply in his face. "I'm here! Sorry I took so long. You're Ryou, right? I'm Naruto Uzumaki." He offered his hand to Ryou, who was grinning again in the face of Naruto's exuberance.

"I figured," Ryou said, shaking Naruto's hand. "I guess we're going now?" He asked, looking to Sasuke and Isa for confirmation.

"Take something to eat first," Youta said. Isa had nearly forgotten about him, but she realized he'd finished buttering a towering stack of toast and was holding out the plate, waiting patiently for them to take the food.

Naruto grabbed three pieces of toast eagerly. "Thanks! You're Youta, aren't you? You look a lot like your brother. I'm Naruto," he said, speaking around a mouthful of toast.

Youta chuckled warmly. "You got me. I'm Youta, the nicer brother who makes food for you."

Naruto laughed. "I like anyone who gives me food," he said, taking another piece of toast. Isa took a single piece, nibbling on it with longing thoughts of peach jam. Sasuke reluctantly took a piece and chewed on it as if it had personally offended him, his expression so sour that Isa nearly choked on her own toast while trying not to laugh. Ryou took two pieces, sticking one in his mouth and winking cheerfully at Youta before turning on his heel and leaving the room.

The three genin followed him out of the house and down the road. He led them away from the center of town, around the curve of the hill, to a large open space on the side of the slope that had been leveled off. He stopped in front of a large arch, made of bleached white wood. It curved over the entrance to a wide yard, and on the front of the arch was emblazoned the kanji for "school". Beyond it was the yard, full of students, and a collection of long buildings that lined the yard.

Ryou finished the last of his toast and shoved his hands into his pockets. "So do you guys have to follow me around all day? Or can I go actually talk to people and hang out?"

Isa glanced at her teammates and shrugged. "Sasuke's cover is as your cousin, so it'd make sense for him to tag along with you. Naruto and I will probably keep our distance, but we won't have any trouble finding you if we need to."

Ryou glanced skeptically at Sasuke, who glowered back at him. "Whatever you say. Come on, 'cousin'." He turned and vanished into the crowd of students. Sasuke sighed deeply and followed him; Isa was certain he couldn't be any grumpier if he tried.

She cast a cursory glance around the yard, noting the widespread ages of the assembled students. There were very young children, children her own age, and a handful of students in their early teens, as well. Despite the variety of ages, they were all notably well-dressed. There wasn't a single person there who looked anything like the children she'd seen in the street the day before; these children all looked well-fed and their clothes were well-made and clean.

"So only the families with money can send their children to school," she muttered, more to herself than to Naruto. "Everyone else is left to work in the fields or sit around in the streets all day."

"That's sad," Naruto said, frowning up at the school buildings. "I don't think you should have to pay in order to go to school. The Academy has always been open to anyone who wants to attend, that's the only reason I was able to go."

Isa looked at him thoughtfully. It was true, she realized. She knew that Naruto had no family, she'd heard that he lived on his own in a little apartment, paid for by the Hokage. Some people whispered about favoritism, said the Hokage had a soft spot for the young boy even though he was a notorious troublemaker. Isa had never thought about the fact that becoming a shinobi might have been the only bright future Naruto had ever seen for himself. The thought was strange, almost foreign in nature, and it settled like a cold stone in the pit of her stomach.

She smiled, but it was an expression of melancholy, not joy. "It is sad," she agreed. "I wish we could help those children, the ones who have nowhere to go."

Naruto shrugged, his smile only a little forced. "That's the good thing about street kids, they always know how to survive. Everyone else might forget about them, but they always make it through somehow." He nudged her with an elbow. "Cheer up. You can't be sad on our first day of school as siblings, it's way too exciting."

Isa smiled slowly, giggling when he nudged her with his elbow again. "Okay, alright, I'm not sad! Come on, let's go figure out what school is like for normal kids." Naruto laughed and walked into the crowd to students milling around the yard. Isa followed him, watching his bright blond hair bob and weave through the crowd.

There was a woman standing next to a large bell, a gong in her hand. She looked out over the yard with a watchful eye, and her gaze sharpened when she spotted Naruto and Isa. It was the same kind of look Isa remembered getting countless times from Iruka back in the Academy, and she instinctively grabbed Naruto's sleeve, pulling him to a stop.

"I think she's in charge here," she said, speaking quietly so only Naruto could hear. He followed her eyeline to the woman, who was watching them carefully. "Should we go say hi?" She asked.

Naruto nodded. "How do we introduce ourselves, though? Are we using Kakashi-sensei's last name?"

Isa frowned, nibbling absentmindedly on her lower lip. "Maybe? I don't think Kakashi-sensei would go around using his real last name when we're undercover, but he didn't say anything to us about it."

"Maybe just wing it and see how it goes?" Naruto suggested.

Isa glanced up at the woman, who had begun moving toward them with a frown. "Quick, look like we're actually siblings and we know what we're doing!"

Naruto stared at her. "What does that look like?"

"I don't know! How do normal kids act?" Isa looked around at the students who were slowly starting to filter into their classrooms. Finding nothing helpful, she huffed and planted her hands on her hips, feeling her heartrate speed up as the woman approached.

Naruto smiled at her when she stopped in front of them. "Hi! We're new here and we don't really know what to do. You probably met our uncle already, I think he enrolled us earlier this morning? I'm Naruto!" He offered his hand to the woman to shake.

The woman seemed caught off guard by his friendliness, but she shook his hand with a stern frown. "Yes, I met your uncle earlier today. You are Naruto and Isa Komugi, correct?"

They both nodded quickly. "Yes, we're the Komugi twins. I'm really sorry that our uncle couldn't be here to drop us off himself," Isa said, clasping her hands behind her back and trying to look as earnest as she could. "He's just really busy trying to find a job, since we're only here for a season and all."

The woman sniffed, but as she glanced between their pleasant, smiling faces, she seemed to relax slightly. "I understand. We ordinarily have a high level of parental involvement here at Suiden Academy, but of course it may be too much to expect such new arrivals to town to be able to spare the time to for formalities. Regardless, your uncle said that you are both to be placed in the Second Year of our higher academic education. I'll show you to your classroom."

She turned smartly on her heel and marched off without bothering to check if they were following. Isa glanced at Naruto, who shrugged. They followed her up to one of the largest buildings that surrounded the yard. By this point, the yard was mostly empty, only the last stragglers left to make their way to class. The woman climbed a short set of stairs and turned, walking down the wide wooden deck that wrapped around the first floor of the building. There were doors placed intermittently and through the small windows set into the doors, Isa could see rows of desks, full of students.

The woman stopped in front of the fourth door they passed and knocked, her knuckles rapping loudly against the wood. Without waiting for a response, she opened the door and entered, holding it open for Naruto and Isa to file in behind her.

Isa immediately spotted Sasuke and Ryou in a corner, surrounded by a group of laughing teenagers who all seemed to gravitate toward Ryou. Sasuke appeared to be utterly uninterested in everything around him, but Isa saw his eyes flicker toward them when they entered the room. He looked away without a second's pause, and if she hadn't known better, it was as if he didn't know them at all. The rest of the classroom was full of students, clustered into groups of various sizes. The teacher was writing on the chalkboard when they walked in, but he looked toward them at the woman's sharp "ahem."

"Can I help you, Ms. Honda?" He asked. He was a man of average height and build, likely older than Iruka by a few years, Isa guessed, but not old enough yet to carry himself with the jaded kind of resignation she often saw in older teachers.

The woman – Ms. Honda – nodded. "Yes, these are the two new students who will be joining your class. Naruto and Isa Komugi, this is your new teacher, Itsuki Nakano. I'll leave you to it, then. Good luck, Mr. Nakano."

Isa bowed respectfully to her as she turned to go, and Naruto quickly followed suit. "Thank you, Ms. Honda," they chorused, and for a moment Isa almost felt like they might be able to pull off the whole "sibling" thing. Ms. Honda nodded at them and left, letting the door shut behind her.

"Welcome to class, then," Itsuki said, smiling at them. "You can take a seat anywhere you'd like. We're fairly easygoing in here, so feel free to get to know your classmates for a few minutes while I get ready for today's work."

Isa nodded and followed Naruto to a pair of desks toward the front of the classroom. The desks were grouped in pairs of two, and they took the last open pair. Naruto immediately turned around and introduced himself to the people sitting behind them, a girl and a boy who shared the same grey eyes.

"Hey," he said. "I'm Naruto. This is my sister, Isa. So what kind of stuff are we gonna learn about in this class? We're from Konoha so schools are different and stuff, we're not really sure what to expect."

"I'm Osamu," the boy said, squinting at them, though Isa suspected it was due to bad vision rather than suspicion. "Are you guys twins, too? Me and my sister are the only twins in the village."

The girl beside him, her hair a shade more red than his, raised her hand and waved. "I'm Ume, the other half of the twins." She grinned wryly. "I wouldn't worry too much about being behind," she said, addressing Naruto. "This place is big on 'academic superiority' but it's the only real school in the village, so it's not like they really have the option to only take super smart kids."

"What about the other kids? Are they cool?" Naruto asked, casting a significant look at Ryou's group in the back corner. As if on cue, they burst out laughing raucously.

Osamu rolled his eyes. "Ignore them, they're all spoiled rich kids who think they're too important to bother actually paying attention in class."

Isa frowned, watching Ryou laugh with his friends, her expression thoughtful. "Really? They seem nice."

Ume snorted, grinning knowingly at Isa. "Oh, yeah, he's nice. He's flirted his way through half the girls at school already. Just be careful, you're cute, he'll go right for you."

Isa gaped at her. "What? No way, that's not going to happen. No chance." She laughed awkwardly, tucking her hair behind one ear self-consciously.

"Uh huh. Try not to blush next time, it's more convincing that way," Ume said, laughing when Isa clapped her hands to her cheeks.

Naruto was frowning, looking from Ryou to Isa as if trying to put the pieces together in his mind. "I don't get it," he said. "He doesn't seem that great. Why do all the girls like him?"

"He's 'funny' and 'nice' and 'handsome'," Osamu said, grimacing as he spoke. "I don't get it either, man."

"At least he doesn't collect trading cards for fun," Ume said. Her brother jabbed her sharply in the side and she snickered. Osamu opened his mouth to retort just as Itsuki clapped loudly, startling the class into silence.

"Alright, it's time to get started. We have a few new arrivals today, I expect you all to welcome them warmly," he said, gesturing toward Naruto, Isa, and Sasuke. "Also, don't forget about the report you have due at the end of the week."

Ryou raised his hand, his group of friends collectively laughing under their breaths. "What if I lose my report, Mr. Nakano?" He asked, grinning at his teacher, who barely paid him any attention.

"Well, that would just be unfortunate," Itsuki said, smiling placidly at Ryou. "Now, for today's lesson, we'll be looking at the history of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, starting with their initial formation."

Isa swiveled in her seat to face the front of the classroom, but not before shooting a look of disbelief to Naruto.

 _'Formation of the countries? We learned about this years ago! Is this supposed to be new information? Or does the Academy just teach us everything really early?'_

Naruto looked as confused as she felt, which was saying something considering Naruto hardly ever attended class. And even when he was there, he was usually goofing off and causing Iruka no end of trouble. The fact that even Naruto knew what they were supposed to be learning meant that the Academy probably did teach its students much more than normal schools did.

As the instruction began, Isa pondered how she felt about that. It wasn't necessarily bad that the Academy taught its students more; in fact, it made sense considering they were being trained to be shinobi. Shinobi had to be smarter, faster, more capable than anyone else, so of course their education would be more extensive than in an ordinary school. It still felt like a disservice, though. She couldn't help but wonder how much smarter these students could be if they'd received the same education she had, if they had learned as much as she had at such a young age maybe they'd already be out in the world making changes.

 _'It's a waste of young intelligence. We should be doing everything we can to help the next generation grow up better and smarter than the last, not taking it easy and letting them off when they could be learning so much more.'_

It was disappointing, and it lingered throughout the entire school day. They were released briefly for a lunch break, but she and Naruto hadn't brought anything, so they'd stayed near the classroom with Osamu and Ume. After that had been the afternoon class, in the same classroom and with the same teacher as the morning class, only this time they covered mathematics and grammar. Again, it was repetition of concepts that Isa had learned years ago in the Academy, and after a while the hours blurred together out of sheer boredom.

When they were finally released for the day, Isa and Naruto fled faster than any of the other students. They darted out of the school yard and turned down the street, making their way toward the Oshiro estate.

Isa huffed, reaching up to pull her hair into a ponytail. "I am so sick of having my hair in my face," she muttered. "Also, normal school is the worst."

Naruto nodded in agreement. He was walking beside her, his hands folded behind his head as he looked up at the sky. "The teacher is nice but I feel way too smart for the class. Which is weird because I never feel smart. Like, ever."

"It was boring. I guess I expected our first real mission to be more exciting. I'm not even sure what we're supposed to do now, do we just follow Ryou around while Kakashi-sensei does all the investigating?" Isa asked, put out by the very idea of being left out of the mission.

"That's no fun," Naruto said, his pout mirroring her own.

"What if we go investigating tomorrow? After school we can just go right back to the estate with Ryou and then head out and figure out who's behind all the threats?" Isa suggested, finally pulling her hair into a satisfactory ponytail. It still hung to her mid-back, even pulled up, but its weight was comforting now rather than a hindrance.

Isa smiled, good spirit restored. Her nerves had faded some time between the beginning of their morning class and their lunch break, lost amidst the sea of lazily scribbled notes and staring out of the window for hours. Now, she was restless, eager to accomplish something that felt like she was actually contributing to the mission, instead of sitting around babysitting someone who didn't want her to be there, anyway.

They returned to the estate, and a quick check let Isa know that there was no one else there. After stopping by the kitchen to search for food, she and Naruto retreated to their room, arms full of snacks. Isa had changed into more comfortable clothes and was practicing her chakra control, taking careful, measured steps up the wall, when Sasuke walked in.

She didn't notice him when he entered the room, but when he shut the door, she yelped in surprise. Her control over the chakra she was channeling to her feet fluctuated and she unceremoniously dropped onto her bed in a heap. She sat up quickly, glaring at him.

"A little warning next time would be nice!"

He smirked. "Maybe you should be more aware of your surroundings, genius."

"Don't be a jerk," she retorted, sticking her tongue out at him childishly. She picked herself up off the bed and concentrated for a moment, channeling her chakra into her feet once more. "Did you have lots of fun at school today?" She asked Sasuke as she carefully stepped onto the wall.

He grunted, taking a seat on his own bed. "It was stupid. Ryou and his friends are all idiots, and as far as I can tell there's no one there who might be targeting him."

"Yeah, I didn't notice anyone suspicious," Naruto said. He was rubbing a bump on the back of his head that he'd acquired after trying to imitate Isa's wallwalking. He'd ended up crashing into the floor rather painfully. "Isa and I were talking about going out on our own to investigate tomorrow after we get out of class. You coming?"

Sasuke nodded. "At least that might not be a complete waste of time. I don't know what Kakashi expects us to do here, but I'm not about to spend the whole time sitting around in some stupid school learning nothing."

Isa had made it up the wall by this point, and she stepped cautiously onto the ceiling, brow furrowed in concentration. "I doubt whoever is behind the threats is going to try anything during the day, anyway. We should sleep in shifts, too, just in case. Maybe patrol the grounds?"

"How far does your chakra sensing go?" Sasuke asked, watching her as if he expected her to fall at any moment.

"I can cover the entire estate easily," she said, taking small steps across the ceiling. "I can cover most of the village if I push myself."

"We can't rely on that all night, though," Naruto pointed out. "You have to sleep, too."

"What about your clones?" Isa asked. "Can you sleep while still maintaining the Shadow Clone Jutsu?"

He shook his head sadly. "Nope. I can use them to patrol the grounds, though, whenever I'm on guard duty. If any of them run into trouble, I'll know."

Isa glanced at Sasuke, who was staring at the floor pensively. Somehow, even without chakra sensing or shadow clones, she felt like he'd have no problem covering his portion of the guard shift.

"Who wants first watch, then?" She asked, now standing squarely in the middle of the ceiling.

"I'll take it," Naruto said, raising his hand.

Isa nodded. "I'll take second," she said.

"So many options," Sasuke muttered, deadpan. "I'll take third, then."

As he finished speaking, there was a knock at the door. It opened and Ryou stuck his head into the room. He spotted Isa standing on the ceiling and his eyebrows rose, mouth widening into a grin.

"Is this just normal for ninja?" He asked jokingly. "Walking on ceilings is just an everyday thing?"

"Pretty much," Naruto said. "What's up?"

"Dinner's gonna be ready in a minute, if you guys want some. Just thought I'd let you know."

"Thanks," Isa said. She raised her arms and transferred her chakra flow to her arms. As the chakra left her feet, she dropped from the ceiling, landing on the palms of her hands. The landing was softened by the chakra she'd channeled into her arms to cushion the blow, but she still winced slightly as she bent her legs back toward the ground. Standing upright, she released the last of her careful chakra control and smiled at Ryou, who was watching with a vaguely impressed expression.

"Yeah, no problem. You gotta show me more of those fancy tricks later," he said, smiling at her before ducking back out of the room and shutting the door behind him.

"I don't like him," Naruto muttered, frowning at the door. "He's kind of annoying."

"You just don't like him because she does," Sasuke said, jerking a thumb at Isa, who stammered in protest.

"I do not! What about you? You don't like him either!" She said, glaring at him.

He actually grinned at her then, standing up so that they were at eye-level. "I don't like anyone," he said dryly. "But he doesn't want to see my 'fancy tricks', does he? So it doesn't matter how I feel about him."

Isa huffed indignantly, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not showing anyone any fancy tricks! Jerk," she added. Sasuke raised an eyebrow and for the first time since she'd known him seemed genuinely amused.

"Don't be annoying," Naruto said, frowning at Sasuke. "I'm starving, let's just go eat dinner."

"Whatever you say. Come on," Sasuke said, brushing past Isa as he moved toward the door.

Naruto joined him, waiting in the doorway for Isa. She sighed, privately wondering why anyone – mostly Ino and Sakura – liked Sasuke so much, but followed her teammates out of the door regardless.

* * *

AN: I don't think I actually managed to write this and get it posted sooner than the previous chapter, and for that I'm very sorry. I am happier with this chapter than I have been with the past few, though, so that's a plus. Hopefully things are starting to get more interesting, and if not in this chapter, it'll definitely pick up in the next. As always, feedback is appreciated, and thank you for all of the love you guys have given this story so far. I'm going to try(again) to get the next chapter out faster, but with work and school there are no promises. Still, thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoy!


	6. Chapter Six: Afraid

_Said you'd always be my white blood_  
 _Elevate my soul above_  
 _Giving me your white blood_  
 _I need you right here with me_

* * *

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. Isa Yamanaka and any other original characters are mine._

* * *

A cold wind woke her from a restless sleep. Isa rolled onto her side, peering up at Naruto. He was sitting in the open windowframe, silhouetted by moonlight, nearly statuesque in his stillness.

"Naruto, what-"

He raised his finger to his lips, catching her gaze with a sharp, meaningful look. Isa sat up, the fog of sleep fleeing as her heart sped up, thudding a warning beat into her ribcage. She slid from her bed, reaching over to grab Sasuke's shoulder in the bed beside hers.

He stirred when she shook him, opening dark eyes to frown at her. "What is it?" He asked quietly, immediately picking up on the tense worry in Isa's eyes.

Naruto hopped down from the window, moving over to his teammates. "One of my shadow clones picked up movement over the southern corner of the estate wall. He was hit a minute later."

"Do you have any more in the area?" Isa asked. She pulled her sandals on as she spoke, grateful that she'd decided to sleep fully clothed just in case.

Naruto shook his head. "I had a bunch stationed around the perimeter but I didn't want to move them in case they start coming in from other directions, too."

"Good thinking. I should be able to track them, anyway," Isa said.

"We need to wake up Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said. "Should I send a clone?"

Sasuke nodded. "Do it."

Naruto formed a hand seal, crossing the first two fingers of both hands, and a shadow clone popped into existence beside him. "Go get Kakashi-sensei," he said to the clone, who nodded. "Tell him there are people sneaking onto the estate and we went to check it out."

Isa moved toward the open window and let her senses broaden, seeking out the intruders' chakra signatures. They definitely weren't shinobi, otherwise they'd be easy to find, their chakra would flare like beacons when she searched for it. Instead, she was searching for a muted hum, almost a resonance, that set people apart from the background. Everything had chakra, even plants and the tiniest of animals, but it took an extraordinary amount of sensitivity to be able to pick up that little chakra. Isa had never been able to do it, but she could pick up humans just fine.

"Lead the way," Sasuke muttered, standing at her back with a kunai ready in his hand.

She clambered out of the window, dropping silently to the ground outside. There were chakra signatures moving in the back garden, and she turned toward them, moving quickly down the path along the northern side of the house. She stopped at the corner of the path, just before it opened up to the back yard, and waved her teammates over.

"There are six, as far as I can tell," she whispered. "Four heading toward the house, two scoping out the yard. One is coming this way."

"We need to keep them out of the house. Can you keep those four busy while we get rid of the other two in the yard?" Sasuke asked, looking at Naruto.

Naruto nodded. "I can hold them off as long as you guys need me to."

"Go across the roof," Isa said, pointing upward. "I'm taking the one who's coming this way, I'll get whatever information I can out of him. You go for the other one," she said to Sasuke.

Naruto backed up and took a running jump at the house, pushing himself off of the wall with one foot and landing on the roof, only a little wobbly. He flashed them a thumbs up before vanishing.

"When you're done, move to help Naruto," Isa said, focusing in on the person moving toward them.

"Aye aye, captain," he said, smirking at her when she shot him a dark look. He stepped back into the inky shadows along the privacy wall, disappearing from view with ease.

Isa stepped away from the corner, standing in the middle of the path. She waited with bated breath, adrenaline thrumming through her body. The person was drawing nearer now, and Isa's focus was honed to a single point, all of her attention trained on them. She could practically feel every step they took, felt their chakra fluctuate in surprise as they rounded the corner.

They had a sword, they were reaching for it. Her eyes snapped open, locked with theirs. It was a man, his face hidden beneath a dark hood.

Her lips parted. The air tasted faintly of wisteria.

"Paralysis Genjutsu."

Her eyes bored into his and he stiffened, body going rigid. Time seemed to slow, the man stood frozen and Isa's arms moved, fingers forming an 'O' in the air between them.

"Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu."

The sensation of her consciousness leaving her body was akin to diving into a pool. Or rather, diving out of one. Her mind instinctively wanted to cling to her body, its home, and leaving took effort. That was the diving part, the plunging out of her body into a realm immaterial. The man before her was held firm by her genjutsu, untrained and helpless.

When her mind settled into his body, it was almost too easy to stifle him. His thoughts were chaos, his mind open. She could feel his panic, the _whatisthishowdidshetheydidn'twarnusaboutthis_ going around and around in his head.

She came in like a wave, washing over him and gathering up his turbulent mind. She was nearly gentle as she pushed his consciousness aside. Nearly, but not quite. Urgency drove her, and she delved into his mind, filtering through his memories for something – anything – that might be important.

There.

 _'A path, winding up through the hills, water lapping at concrete, purpose when he looked at it. Faces, haggard, worn, angry. An aching sense of betrayal, of hated, a cloying helplessness.'_

She pulled herself away from the man, fleeing back to her own body. She opened her eyes to watch the man crumple to the ground, groaning aloud. He held his head in both hands, barely responding when she picked herself up off the ground.

"I'm sorry." She nearly whispered it as she struck him with the hard pommel of a kunai. He slumped forward with a gasp of pain, but Isa only backed away when she felt his chakra even out with the steadiness of unconsciousness.

She stepped up, peering around the corner into the yard. She could feel a surge of chakra from Sasuke and the corresponding spike of pain from the man he was targeting. Without wasting a second, Sasuke started making his way toward Naruto, who was a blur of energy. Each of his shadow clones had their own chakra signatures, weaker than Naruto's, but still strong enough that they'd be easily mistakable for real people if Isa didn't know better. She could pick out Naruto himself, darting to and fro among the four people he was fighting. His clones were moving with him, not as mirrors but as complementary entities, driving their attackers back, away from the house.

Isa knelt beside the man she's subdued, quickly producing a length of rope from the pouch at her waist. She tied his hands and feet together before standing. Sasuke was almost to Naruto now, and Isa broke into a run, jumping up onto the roof and sprinting across it. As soon as she crested the edge of the roof, looking down on the fight below, she formed a hand seal.

"Illusory Mist Genjutsu," she said quietly. Gathering her chakra, she reached out to the four men fighting against Naruto and his clones. Into their minds, she projected her genjutsu. To them, there would be a thick mist rising off of the ground, obscuring their enemies, and Isa herself would appear blurred around the edges, flickering as if she wasn't quite real.

She leapt from the roof, jumping into the fray with a kunai in her hand. Singling in on one of the smaller opponents, she slid into arms-reach of him. He batted away one of Naruto's clones and shook his head, frowning as Isa's genjutsu took effect. He spotted her and his eyes narrowed from behind his mask, confusion warring with frustration as he watched her carefully.

Her strength had never been in her speed, nor her taijutsu, but as she stepped to the side, she tracked the movement of his eyes. He wasn't quite able to follow her, not with the genjutsu distorted his senses. With a small, satisfied smile, Isa darted in, slamming the pommel of her kunai into his temple. He hardly managed to raise his arm by the time she hit and he crumpled like a sack.

There was a blur of orange beside her and Isa turned to see Naruto and three of his clones bullrush the largest of the attackers. They hit him like a hammer against a brick wall, plowing the much larger figure to the ground. Closer to the house, Sasuke was sparring with a third attacker, his kunai locked against the man's sword. His eyes were flashing dangerously, but Isa could have sworn he was nearly smiling as he parried the man's desperate slash. His parry sent the man's arm flying wide and Sasuke slid toward him, kunai sliding home into the man's stomach.

There wasn't a moment's hesitation when Sasuke pulled the kunai out of the man's gut, letting him stagger and fall to his knees. He dropped his sword, clasping one hand against the bloody wound in his abdomen. Sasuke stood over him, and for a split second Isa was certain he was going to kill him. It was a horrible, icy cold kind of _knowing_ that made her chest hurt.

"Sasuke, no!" She yelled, dodging a wayward swing from the fourth attacker as she rushed toward him. "Don't kill him!"

The kunai was poised inches above the man's neck, but Sasuke didn't move. He glared up at her, frustration glinting in his eyes.

"He's our enemy! We can't save everyone!" He snapped.

Isa's eyes narrowed in anger. "Go deal with the last one, I'll take care of this one."

Sasuke stood, stepping up to that they were practically chest-to-chest. "So, what, I just follow your orders now? You're not the leader of this team."

"We don't kill unless we have to," she ground out from between clenched teeth. There was a tense moment where they glared at each other, dark eyes warring against blue-green ones. Finally, Sasuke sniffed, sneering at her.

"Whatever." He brushed past her, bumping into her shoulder carelessly.

She glared after him, but he had already moved toward the last attacker, who was backing away quickly. Naruto and Sasuke were both advancing on him, and Isa could feel the tremors of fear in the man's chakra. He was retreating rapidly, back toward a cluster of chakra signatures over the other side of the garden wall. Isa could pick out a thread of restless anxiety from the people waiting, it rang like a high, screeching note in her ear.

"There are others," she said, watching as Naruto deftly tackled the fleeing attacker to the ground. He hit the man sharply in the temple with a kunai, tying his hands and feet as soon as he was sure that the man was unconscious.

"Makes sense," Sasuke said. "Sending four men would be stupid, even if they didn't know we were here."

"They must have known," Naruto chimed in as he dragged his unconscious captive over to the other attackers. Other than the one Sasuke had stabbed, the men were relatively unharmed, besides perhaps a few broken bones and very bad bruises. "Right? If they didn't know wouldn't they have just attacked right away instead of being all sneaky about it?"

Isa nodded, frowning thoughtfully. "How did they know, though? Do they have an informant? Or are they just watching the house?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Could be anything. Why don't you go ask? They're waiting just over the wall." He smirked at her.

She just rolled her eyes, concentrating on the chakra signatures. "They're moving away," she said. "Should we go after them?"

"Yeah, let's go!" Naruto said.

"What about Kakashi-sensei?" She asked.

Naruto deflated slightly. "I mean, I sent a clone to go get him. He'll understand if we go after them, right?"

"We can't risk losing our only chance to track these guys back to their base," Sasuke said.

Isa chewed on her bottom lip, frowning up at the garden wall. The chakra presences were fading as they moved away; she could track them to the edges of town if she tried, but after that they'd be lost.

"Let's go," she said quietly. Naruto nodded and with a single leap was standing atop the wall. Sasuke joined him and after casting a backward glance at the unconscious, bleeding men behind her, Isa followed.

They moved quickly, jumping along the rooftops. Isa lead the way, honed into the chakra presences that they were swiftly gaining on. The night air whistled past her as she ran, the cold numbing her face, her nose going red. She pushed away her thoughts, letting the wind snatch them away, turning her mind toward only the task at hand.

 _'There'll be time to worry about whether or not we should have done this later. Right now we just need to focus on trying to help with the mission.'_

The village flew past beneath her feet as she surged forward, bearing down upon their prey. They were close enough now that she could pick apart each individual chakra presence, could feel the lilt of each person's being. There was a familiarity there that nearly made her stumble. She skipped a step, freefalling for a sickening moment before she caught herself, landing too heavily on a roof.

Isa's eyebrows were knit in confusion and concern, and her heart pounded like an unsteady drum in her chest. "Wait, there's something wrong," she called out. "I think... Youta is with them?"

The warm presence was definitely there, strong and comforting even as it fled before her. Time seemed to slow as she looked to her teammates, watched as they turned toward her. Naruto's expression went from confused to shocked, and Sasuke's hand was a blur of metal before she could blink.

"Isa, du-"

And then it was black.

She was adrift, floating in dark nothingness. Her heartbeat was a dull, steady thud that seemed to come from all around her, ringing in her ears. With each beat, there was an accompanying flash of pain, red and stinging at the base of her skull. It was as if she felt it across a great distance, like her mind and her body were somehow detached. She was utterly alone here, her senses caged, locked within this fathomless night. It was the strangest sensation she'd ever felt, and it left an uncomfortable tingling feeling in her chest.

Thoughts flickered at the edge of her mind, just out of reach. They were blurry, out of focus and distorted by a haze of pain. She wanted to reach for them, to understand, but she couldn't move. She could only gaze down at herself as if suspended from above her own body. She was laying still, frozen as if asleep, her hair spread like a halo around her head.

The darkness stretched on, and Isa began to wonder if it would ever end. Finally, it shook once, twice. There was a long moment where nothing hapepned and then suddenly the dark was flushed away.

Isa's eyes snapped open and she immediately closed them, blinking away water. It was streaming into her mouth, and had drenched her hair and her clothes. She choked, instinctively reaching to wipe water away from her stinging eyes, but she found that her hands were bound behind her back.

Her feet, too, were tied tightly with rope. The binds, though uncomfortable, were somewhat eclipsed by the ashing pain at the back of her head. Isa groaned, mind racing despite the pain. Panic was sinking like ice in her stomach, a cloying, desperate kind of nausea. She broadened her senses, pushing past the flare of pain in response. She felt out for Naruto and Sasuke, and when she found them just next to her it almost felt like her heart would burst out of relief.

They were both awake, too, though Sasuke was still, and Isa guessed that he was using this time to plan a way to escape. Naruto was struggling against his binds, muttering a rather impressive array of curses under his breath. He was further away from her, but Sasuke was right next to her, and Isa leaned against him, surreptitiously reaching to brush her fingers against his arm. He made no sign of acknowledgment, but she knew that he'd understood.

Isa pushed her mind further, past her teammates, tallying up their captors. She counted thirteen people in the vicinity, including Youta, whose chakra she recognized, and three other chakra presences that surged with power. Beside the villagers, they shone like beacons.

 _'Shinobi. What are they doing here?! They're obviously well-trained, but they're working with the people who are targeting Mr. Oshiro. So, what, is this some kind of inter-country conflict that we just sort of stumbled upon? They can't be shinobi from Konoha, I'd know them, and they wouldn't have been assigned to help the attackers anyway. So where are they from? And what's their goal? Are they here on an assignment? Or are they rebels just like the men they're helping?'_

The thought sent a chill down her spine. Any way she looked at it, the situation was bad, but if they were up against missing-nin, there was no telling how powerful they might be. Their chakras were strong, but sensing their chakra told her nothing about their actual abilities. Regardless, Isa knew that they were far outclassed. Injured, captured, confused, and surrounded by enemies. It was practically a worst case scenario out of an Academy test, only now it was real and her life, and Naruto's and Sasuke's, was on the line.

Finally, Isa opened her eyes, squinting through the water that still clung to her eyelashes. They appeared to be in a cave of some kind, the walls curved and earthen. They'd been left on the side of a tunnel that stretched away in two directions; from what she could sense, Isa knew that it widened further in, where the three other shinobi were, and she assumed the other way lead back to the surface. It was dimly lit by torches that had been placed intermittently along the passage, one of them directly above her on the side of the tunnel wall.

The hard wall was at her back, and dirt scraped against her legs as she shifted. She was still wearing her shorts and the thin shirt she wore underneath her haori, and now they, along with her sandals, were soaking wet. She shivered, grimacing as dirt smeared across her skin whenever she moved. She was thoroughly uncomfortable, but the guard who was leaning against the opposite side of the tunnel didn't seem to notice or care.

He was a short, stocky man with a mop of messy black hair that shadowed his eyes. He was probably in his late teens, but his face was cold, and he regarded her with a sort of angry weariness that aged him considerably. Isa met his gaze and leaned her head back against the wall, nose wrinkled as she breathed. The air was dank, musty, and smelled faintly of wood smoke and mildew. The smell didn't seem to bother the man guarding them, though, and he seemed amused by Isa's expression of distaste.

She watched him for a minute, sizing him up silently. He fidgeted under her gaze, glaring at her, perhaps an attempt at intimidation. But from here, Isa could feel the apprehension in his chakra, it fluttered nervously every time he caught her gaze.

 _'He's just a kid still, he doesn't have any idea what he's doing. I'll bet whoever these shinobi are, they're the ones who inspired this 'rebellion' in the first place. I don't know what they're hoping to accomplish with it, but they're using these villagers, and the poor people probably don't even realize it.'_

"They're dangerous, you know," she said suddenly, jerking her head in the direction of the unknown shinobi. "I don't know who they are, but they're not your allies, they're not on your side."

The guard sneered at her. "You don't know anything about them, or us."

"Isa!" Naruto exclaimed, craning his neck to see past Sasuke's slumped form. "Are you okay?!"

Isa nodded, then winced as the motion caused another spike of pain in her head. "I'm okay. Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm okay. They jumped us, those shinobi. I think they hit us with a-"

"Hey!" The guard stepped up, kicking at Naruto's foot. "Shut up. You don't get to talk."

Naruto snarled at him. "You think just because we're tied up that you're stronger than us? I've faced a lot worse than you. Asshole," he added for good measure.

The guard bristled in indignation. "You better watch your mouth, kid. You're no match for us. If you were smart, you'd know that it's best for you to stop talking now."

"And then what?" Isa asked, watching him through her eyelashes. "You'll kill us? Free us? Inspire us to join your cause? We're shinobi from Konoha, you kill us, you have the entire country coming down on you."

The guard glanced at her and she almost smirked. The telltale quaver of fear was there again, his chakra giving away the emotions he was trying to hide behind a scowl.

"Shut up," he growled again, crossing his arms over his chest as he moved back to lean against the wall.

Naruto grumbled in response, but Isa simply shifted into a more comfortable position, deliberately leaning her shoulder against Sasuke's. She closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the wall again. In her mind, she reached out to Sasuke. Her consciousness brushed against his tentatively and he immediately recoiled against the foreign sensation.

 _'Stop. It's me.'_

She felt him relax slightly, and his mind opened just a fraction, though he didn't let down the walls around his thoughts. But she didn't want to know what he was thinking, anyway. With a frown of concentration, Isa broadened her senses again, tracking down the thirteen chakra signatures in the cave. Once she'd found them, she opened a channel between herself and Sasuke, allowing him to sense what she was sensing. It was a technique called Sensing Transmission, an extension of the Mind Body Transmission Technique that allowed Isa to communicate telepathically with other people. Sensing Transmission was somewhat more intensive than simple communication, though, and Isa had been unable to achieve it so far without physical contact.

 _'If you can grab Naruto somehow, I can show him, too. I need a physical connection.'_

She could feel Sasuke's displeasure even without being able to sense it in his chakra, but he begrudgingly inched his hand toward their teammate. Isa quickly extended her mental connection to Naruto.

 _'Don't move, and don't make any noise, okay? Sasuke's going to touch you so that I can show you something. Don't freak out.'_

Naruto recoiled just as Sasuke had, and was almost slower to lower his guard. She could sense his cautious uncertainty, but he didn't flinch away when Sasuke's fingers brushed against his wrist. Isa felt the moment a physical connection was established, and she opened another channel, connecting the three of them together. It was the first time she'd done this with anyone other than Ino, and it left her feeling strangely vulnerable.

 _'There are thirteen people scattered all through these tunnels, and three of them are the shinobi who jumped us. I don't know where they're from, but they're definitely not from Konoha, which means they're either from another ninja country or they're missing-nin. Which is really not good. I can't sense much beyond the tunnels, I have no idea how far we are from the village.'_

Isa could feel Naruto's anger at the mention of the unknown shinobi, and Sasuke, though less incensed, seemed to focus on them, as well.

 _'Do you really think we can handle them?'_

Naruto radiated complete certainty, his confidence a powerful force despite their recent capture. Sasuke seemed determined, and Isa could sense his curiosity and anger toward the shinobi who had accosted them. A shadow of a thought flitted through her mind, a brief sense of pressure form Sasuke as she saw the image of their assignment form in her mind. If Isa could have mentally sighed, she would have.

 _'Fine. What's the plan, then?'_

Naruto's mind bent toward the guard directly in front of them, and Sasuke seemed to be in agreement. Isa withdrew her mental connection to them and opened her eyes, looking their guard up and down. He glared at her in response. She knew her ninjutsus were useless without access to hand seals, and with her feet bound, taijutsu was out of the equation, too. That left genjutsu. She would have smiled if her head hadn't been throbbing in pain.

She locked eyes with the guard and quietly muttered, "Paralysis Genjutsu." He stiffened, frozen in place by the genjutsu.

"Got him," she said, still keeping her voice low.

"Good," Sasuke said, sitting upright for the first time. He took a deep breath and Isa could feel him concentrating chakra in his chest. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu."

She flinched away as he spoke, memories of his last fireball still relatively fresh in her mind. But while the fireball he'd created during Kakashi's survival test had been huge and had blown a crater in the ground, the fire that Sasuke was producing now was a stream from his mouth rather than a condensed ball of flame. He breathed it out, brow creased in concentration. She could feel him carefully manipulating his chakra in order to control the fire, molding it into a thin stream that cut right through the rope around his feet.

As soon as the rope around his ankles fell away, the fire from his mouth died, and Sasuke sat up, bending his leg until he could fish a hidden kunai from his sandal with his bound hands. Kunai were too big to use easily with his hands tied, but he managed to awkwardly cut through the rope around his hands. As soon as he was free, he cut through Isa's binds, then Naruto's.

Then, he turned toward their guard with a sneer of disdain. The man was still frozen in place, the panic rolling off of him in waves. Isa was sure she could have felt it even without her sensory abilities.

"What are we gonna do with him?" Naruto asked, glaring at the man. "We can't just leave him here."

"Knock him out," Isa said.

"And when his friends find him and wake him up and we have to fight him all over again?" Sasuke asked. He waited for her response, dark eyes betraying nothing.

She met his gaze levelly. "We do what we have to do to complete the mission, right?" He nodded once in approval. "Knock him out and see if we can tie him up with what's left of the ropes."

Sasuke turned and with a single precise blow to the back of the head, knocked the man out cold with the blunt handle of his kunai. Isa let her genjutsu fade and her captive unceremoniously crumpled to the ground. Naruto crouched down and gathered the remains of their bindings, fashioning a new makeshift rope out of the scraps. It wasn't strong by any means, and Isa guessed that someone would be able to tear out of it fairly easily, but it was better than leaving the guard unbound.

As soon as their guard was tied up, they propped him up against the wall and made him as inconspicuous as they could. Then, with Isa's senses sharply trained on the remaining people in the tunnels, they crept forward, deeper into the caves. Time was their enemy now, and with every moment that passed she felt more and more afraid. The fear settled like a palpable weight on her shoulders, and Isa was sure that her heart was hammering loudly enough for anyone to hear.

It seemed to take ages, but Isa knew that it was only barely a minute before they reached the curve of the tunnel as it opened into a large chamber. The three of them hunkered down behind a small outcropping, pressed flush against the rock wall.

"There are eight guys in there," Isa whispered. "The three shinobi, then five others. Youta is with them, too."

"Do you think he's a prisoner, maybe?" Naruto asked half-heartedly.

She shook her head sadly. "I think I could sense it if he was a prisoner, he'd be scared or nervous or angry, and I can feel that in a person's chakra. But he's calm, a little worried, maybe, but I don't think he's a prisoner."

"If he's working with them, we need to take him out, too," Sasuke said. "Let's go."

"Try to leave them alive," Isa hissed after him as he turned and began to round the corner.

From a tactical standpoint, they were in a bad position. There were only three of them against eight people in the room, and even though the five villagers were no problem for three genin, they would serve as a good distraction, allowing the enemy shinobi to either make their escape or maneuver into better positions to fight them. Isa knew that Naruto and Sasuke would charge right in, together they could handle the five villagers without a problem, which left Isa with the opportunity to engage the three shinobi. There was no way she could take them on her own, but she was willing to bet that she could occupy them long enough for Naruto and Sasuke to come to her aid.

Isa took a deep breath, her pulse racing. She could feel adrenaline coursing through her body, making everything feel sharper, clearer, as if the world had been brought into stark focus. Naruto was beside her, watching her. He smiled as she met his gaze and for the first time she noticed the angry bruise that was blooming across his left cheek. But he smiled despite it, seemingly unbothered.

"Hey, we can do this," he said quietly. "It'll be okay."

She nodded, the ghost of a smile flitting across her face. "Be careful."

"I'm always careful," he quipped, slipping past her to join Sasuke at the curve of the tunnel. They traded a significant look, a quiet sort of understanding, and together they turned the corner.

Isa lingered in the tunnel for a moment, listening to the sudden explosion of noise with bated breath. She could sense the movement in the room, a multitude of Naruto's – his shadow clones, she knew – jumping everywhere, and Sasuke, a whirlwind, facing off three men at the same time. The other shinobi were immediately on the defensive, but they remained in the back of the room, out of the fighting.

With another deep breath, Isa rounded the corner and ducked into the fighting. She wove through the maze of bodies, dodging between her teammates and enemies. She emerged on the other side and had a split second to analyze her surroundings before she felt a genjutsu begin to take effect.

Her vision narrowed to a point, a dizzying spiral of dust stretching between her and a pair of amber eyes. It was one of the shinobi, a handsome man with dark skin and messy black hair that curled down to his neck. He was wearing a dark red jacket, its long sleeves tattered, loose black pants, mesh ankle guards, and traditional shinobi sandals. Around his forehead was tied a forehead protector with the symbol for Iwagakure on it; through the symbol was slashed a long line.

 _'Missing-nin.'_

She didn't have time to process this before her vision began to blur, and in the Iwa nin's place stood her father. He was smiling at her, but it was sad, and as she watched dark blood began to drip from his mouth.

"It's okay, Isa, no one blames you. You can't always save everyone, sometimes bad things happen and you can't do anything to stop them."

Isa's heart caught in her throat. She stared at her father with her mouth agape.

 _'It's a genjutsu. It's not real. Snap out of it!'_

Moving her hands felt like wading through molasses. It was as if her body suddenly weighed much more, and it took all of her strength to lift her arms. She struggled to form a hand seal, gathering her chakra to dissipate the illusion. Her eyes were still glued to her father's and as she watched, his form shifted, melting into another familiar face.

Ino, bloody and broken, grinned at her. "Hey, sis," she said. She sounded tired, as if she'd been fighting endlessly. There were dark circles under her eyes and a gash in her shoulder; blood was smeared across her face, and beneath it her skin was unnervingly pale. "Look," Ino continued. "We all forgive you. You did what you had to. We'll always love you, you know that. No matter what, you'll always be my little twin sister." She laughed, but it was a hollow, shattered sound. Isa felt her throat tighten and her eyes burned, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. "Come on, Isa, you know a shinobi always does what's required of them. Finish the job."

Isa blinked and then her hands were bloody, a kunai dangling from her fingers and Ino was laughing again – or crying, she wasn't sure any more. She could taste bile at the back of her throat as she choked, dropping the kunai and clasping her hands together. Her eyes never left Ino's as she dissipated the genjutsu, and with a flicker, her sister was gone, replaced by the missing-nin with the amber eyes.

She swallowed hard and flew at him, a blur of speed. She ignored the wetness on her face, moving in to strike fast. He dodged to the side, but she pivoted and caught him in the ribs with her leg. He grunted, the air rushing from his lungs, and leapt back.

"You know that was all there already, in your head," he said, tapping his temple with a finger. "I just showed it to you. I was afraid of the same thing, when I was your age. I was afraid of my village, of what they might make me do. So I left and now they want to kill me for it."

"You betrayed the people you're supposed to protect," Isa growled from between clenched teeth. Her hands, balled into fists, were shaking.

He shook his head, and his eyes were almost sad when he looked at her. "I betrayed my village because they wanted me to murder children. They expected me to do it out of loyalty, but I could never sleep again with that on my conscience. Could you?"

"Koji, shut up." The dark-haired woman who had spoken was from Iwagakure, as well, her slashed-through forehead protector hanging around her neck. She was glaring at Isa, her expression made more severe by the long scar curving down the right side of her face. "You think some brat from Konoha is going to listen to you? Get rid of her or I will."

Koji glanced back at his teammate and Isa jumped, aiming a kick at his side again. Her foot was blocked by a short staff that appeared to be made out of rock itself. Isa jumped away again, eying the staff cautiously. The woman who'd spoken before was holding it, and she stepped in front of Koji, her teammate, with a grin.

"Go help Hitomu with the other two," she said. Koji nodded and stepped back, leaving Isa squared off against the woman. She twirled her short staff in her hands and then lashed out without warning.

Isa ducked, narrowly avoiding a blow to her head. She flipped backwards, edging toward the fight that was still happening behind her. A quick scan told her that three of the villagers had fallen, and Naruto was making short work of the last two. Sasuke was dealing with the third Iwa missing-nin, Hitomu, who appeared to be launching boulders at him with alarming speed.

"Tough break, kid," the woman said, almost conversational as she closed in on Isa again. "It's never fun knowing you can't win."

Isa grit her teeth and moved in, releasing a flurry of punches that were all blocked by the rock staff. Then, before she could get away, the woman whipped her staff around and stuck Isa on her side. The rock was harder than wood, and beneath the force of the blow, Isa could feel something crack. She stumbled away, gasping in pain.

The woman continued to advance, and Isa was now desperately trying to avoid her weapon. She had no time to use a jutsu, even a simple genjutsu, now that she was constantly backpedaling, and the woman knew it. She moved so fast that Isa could barely move in time, and she managed to get two more hits in – one against her forearms, one against her back – before Isa was pressed up against the wall with nowhere to go.

The woman held the staff out, it hovered under Isa's chin, a hairs-breadth away from her skin. Isa's head was buzzing with panic now, and her body ached, muscles straining and sweat dripping off of her face. She could only imagine how terrified she must look, and the woman seemed to be enjoying it.

She smirked down at Isa. "Ready to give up yet?"

Isa swallowed and shook her head, glaring up at her unblinkingly. The woman's smirk fell away and as she raised her staff again, Isa caught a flash of movement from behind her. Several things then happened at once.

Koji, who was standing at the back of the room, called out, a note of fear in his voice. "Noriko, behind you!"

As he yelled that, Isa clasped her fingers together, forming a single hand seal in the second her eyes were still locked with the woman's. "Sly Mind Affect Technique!"

The woman – Noriko – started to turn, and then the genjutsu hit her, and Isa could see the moment of confusion in her eyes as her perception of directions was suddenly switched. She began to look back at Isa when the orange blur crashed into her.

Isa's head snapped to the side as she watched Naruto slam into Noriko, slamming the taller woman into the wall beside her. Naruto's mouth was twisted in a snarl, his knuckles bloody, and there was a kind of feral light in his eyes that chilled Isa to the core.

His hand was on Noriko's neck, pressing her head into the wall, and he leaned in close to her. "Don't. Touch. Her."

Noriko growled and twisted in his grasp, jabbing her staff back into his stomach. He hissed in pain and released her, pulling back for a punch. Isa's genjutsu was still in place and she poured more of her chakra into it as she backed away, distorting Noriko's sense of direction even further. As she watched, Naruto landed a series of blows on Noriko, and the woman collapsed onto a knee, dropping her staff in order to break the genjutsu.

Just as she clasped her hands to dissipate it, Naruto drove his fist into the back of her head, near the base of her neck, and Noriko slumped to the ground. Naruto stood over her, breathing hard, and for a moment Isa could have sworn that his chakra flickered, what was normally bright and sunny suddenly laced through with an unfamiliar orange chakra that was almost malevolent. But then it was gone, and Naruto was moving back toward Sasuke, who had harried Hitomu into a corner.

"Koji," he was yelling. "They're coming! We're out of time!"

Isa glanced at Koji and saw, for the first time, pure terror in his eyes. He took a shaky step toward her and then broke out into a run, bolting for the entrance of the caves. Isa ran after him, jumping at his back as he was about to round the corner. She snagged the back of his jacket and yanked him to a stop; losing his balance, he tumbled to the ground with her. Landing flat on her stomach, Isa gasped, the ribs that Noriko had broken before grating sharply. Tears sprung to her eyes, but she ignored the pain, scrabbling with Koji as they rolling across the ground. He was bigger than her, and heavier, and he used that advantage to roll on top of her.

He leaned over her, eyes wild with fear. "I'm not going back. You can't let them take me!"

There were people approaching, Isa noticed now. A handful of chakra presences were at the mouth of the caves, all clearly shinobi. She looked around, searching for a discarded weapon. There was an unconscious villager close to her, still holding a knife. It wasn't a strong weapon, but she reached for it, pulling it out of his hands.

Koji lunged for her hand, trying to wrest the knife from her grasp. Isa cried out, kicking at him. She managed to get away from him, rolling away across the ground. He came after her again, desperately scrambling for the knife.

Afterward, it would play through her mind in slow-motion, each moment frozen in existence, but when it happened Isa didn't know what had happened until her hands were covered, slick and dripping in blood.

The knife had been at an awkward angle when she'd pulled it toward herself, she'd meant to hit him over the head with the handle, but it'd twisted in her hands when he'd pulled her closer to him. She had rolled onto her stomach to push him away, but there were too many scrambling limbs, the adrenaline thrumming too loudly in her system. Koji had lurched forward and Isa felt it as he sunk onto the blade of the knife.

It was easy, smooth, like slicing into warm butter. His eyes went wide, shocked, confused. But there was no anger as he gazed down at her, there was no hatred or judgment or pain, even. Instead, he looked sad.

Isa couldn't breathe. Her chest felt tight, nausea rising as warm blood coursed over her hands, still wrapped tight around the handle of the knife. The light was leaving Koji's eyes, but he managed a small smile.

"Thank you," he whispered. Blood bubbled at the edges of his lips. "I'm sorry."

A pair of hands appeared on his shoulders, and with a horrifying squelching sound, Koji was pulled away from her. He flopped to the ground beside her, lifeless. Sasuke's faces swam into focus above her and Isa choked as she finally began to breathe again.

Sasuke said nothing, tight-lipped as he pried the bloody knife from her hands. She was shaking, frozen, and he grabbed her wrists, pulling her up from the ground. She stood, legs automatically taking her weight, though she could feel nothing.

"Sasuke-" She stared at him, terror and confusion warring in her eyes. He gazed back at her, frowning.

"Come here," he said, still holding her wrists. He guided her along after him, never looking away from her. Naruto was beside them in an instant, radiating concern.

"What happened?" He asked, looking to Sasuke.

"She killed him."

Naruto's face went slack in shock and his eyes found Koji's body behind her, the knife still jutting from his chest. Isa was shaking violently now, tears tracing tracks through the blood and dirt on her face. He looped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him, rubbing her back soothingly. She clung to him, leaving bloody handprints on his jacket.

"The other one?" Sasuke asked, voice quiet.

"He got away," Naruto replied, voice rumbling in Isa's ear as she shook against him. "Made a tunnel up to the surface and closed it off behind him."

Sasuke grunted. "If he's running away, chances are these other shinobi aren't friends of his." He glanced at Isa. "Let's go."

Naruto nodded and lead Isa toward the tunnels. She flinched away from Koji's body when they passed him, his amber eyes flashing in her memory. Sasuke took point, guiding them cautiously through the tunnels. They passed no one, and the guard was still unconscious where they'd left him. If Isa had been able to think at all, it would have seemed strange to her, but her mind was reeling now, a looping slideshow of that final moment over and over and over.

It was only when they stepped out of the mouth of the caves and Isa saw Kakashi that she snapped out of it. He was standing with a group of unfamiliar shinobi, glaring at one of them.

"I'm not abandoning my team, I don't care how important you think your quarry is," he was saying, his tone angrier than Isa had ever heard it. He looked up when they appeared in the wide opening of the cave, expression turning to one of surprise.

Isa broke out of Naruto's hold and ran to Kakashi, throwing herself into his arms. He knelt to meet her, wrapping her into a hug. She was sobbing now, breathless with relief. Kakashi held her, and the unfamiliar shinobi shifted uncertainly.

"Two of your missing-nin are in there," Sasuke said to them, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. "One of them got away, he should be in the woods nearby."

"What happened?" Kakashi asked.

"After the house was attacked, we took off after the rest of the group," Naruto said. "The shinobi got us, jumped us while we were chasing down the other attackers."

"Isa didn't see them coming so they were probably suppressing their chakras," Sasuke added.

Naruto nodded. "After that, we all woke up in the caves. We knocked out the guy guarding us and then went to take out the three ninja."

"Why didn't you escape the tunnels when you had the chance?" One of the unfamiliar shinobi asked. He appeared to be the leader, and he looked none-too-pleased with the current situation.

"We had to," Sasuke said. "It was our mission."

"They were trying to hurt people and they were manipulating innocent villagers into fighting for them and they didn't even realize it," Naruto said.

The shinobi seemed rather unimpressed, but he just shrugged. "I guess you did some of our job for us, so thanks for that." He eyed Isa, whose crying had quieted. "She alright?"

"No," Sasuke replied flatly.

Kakashi pulled Isa away from him just enough to stand. He looked at the shinobi with a firm frown. "Go, collect your missing-nin. Then leave."

His tone brooked no argument, and the leader of the other shinobi nodded. With a sharp wave to his men, they entered the caves, disappearing within.

Isa finally drew away from Kakashi, her arms dropping to her sides. She was sniffling, but her eyes were drier now, and the rushing, pounding noise in her ears had stopped. She felt numb, strangely empty, as if the rest of her was still laying on the floor of that cave, staring at a dying man.

Kakashi ruffled her hair lightly, concern in his eye. "You think you can make it back to the village?" He asked gently.

She hesitated, then nodded. "I think... I think I have... a broken rib," she said in a halting voice. It sounded strange, small and too young, like it didn't really belong to her.

Kakashi nodded, hand still resting on her head comfortingly. "What about you two? Are you okay?" He asked, looking up to Naruto and Sasuke. They both nodded. They were bruised, and there was a collection of this cuts across Sasuke's face, but neither seemed worse for wear.

"Good." Kakashi crouched before Isa again, smiling up at her kindly. "You can walk if you want, or I can carry you. It's up to you."

She sniffled, and despite very much hating to look like a weak little girl, she muttered "Please carry me," under her breath. Kakashi nodded and turned, letting her clamber onto his back. Once she was secure, he stood, with Isa's chin resting on his shoulder.

"Come on, then. Let's go home."

* * *

AN: Well, there we go. Hopefully you all enjoyed that. The beginning part felt really awkward to write, but the majority of this chapter came really easily. This is something I've wanted to do since I decided to rewrite Tempest, so hopefully you guys like it. This pretty much wraps up their first C-rank, and the next chapter will focus on them returning to Konoha and all the fallout from this mission, essentially. I'll try to update soon, but time is tight with work and school, so it may be a while before the next chapter is up. Anyway, thank you all for reading, as always, I appreciate it very much!


	7. Chapter Seven: Empty

_They were kids that I once knew_  
 _Now they're all dead hearts to you_

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 _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. Isa Yamanaka and any other original characters are mine._

* * *

There were nightmares now. She hadn't expected that. Isa had expected the shock, the hollow feeling that followed, but not the nightmares. It was as if his ghost was haunting her, amber eyes staring at her every time she fell asleep. So she stopped sleeping.

They remained in Suiden Village for another two days to ensure that the threat against Mr. Oshiro had been stamped out. Kakashi had sent a messenger hawk to Konoha, requesting a retrieval team to collect the villagers they'd taken into custody. Youta and Goro were both among them; Isa ignored the pang of bitterness in her heart every time she thought of them.

They were just poor farmers, she knew. They were down on their luck and their children were starving and Mr. Oshiro was the logical target for their anger. She understood that, and she knew that the missing-nin from Iwagakure had manipulated them into fighting for them, but their betrayal still pained her.

The retrieval team arrived on the second day and took the captive villagers away, back to Konoha for trial. They'd set out shortly after that, leaving Suiden Village behind, silhouetted against the setting sun.

When they finally arrived back in Konoha, Isa stepped through the village gates with a powerful sense of foreboding. Somewhere within the maze of buildings before her was her father, and she wasn't sure she was ready to face him after disappearing for a week. And she might have felt better, but she knew that she looked like a mess. Showing up at home covered in bruises and bandages wasn't going to go over well.

She took a deep breath and stepped through the gates, waving awkwardly at Kotetsu and Izumo, who were sitting at the guard station. They blinked at her in surprise.

"Damn, looks like the little Yamanaka puts up a good fight," Kotetsu quipped, whistling softly.

Izumo peered at her through the fringe of dark hair hanging over one of his eyes. "Did you win, at least?"

Isa ignored the way her heart pinched at that. "Yeah," she said, summoning a smile that was a little too sad to be genuine. "I won."

Kakashi's hand landed on her shoulder lightly, and she jumped, looking up at him. His eye was curled up into his peculiar fake smile, which he directed at Kotetsu and Izumo, but the hand on her shoulder squeezed gently, comforting.

"If you'll excuse us, gentlemen, we have a C-rank mission to turn in," he said.

Naruto appeared beside her, chest puffed up with pride. "Yeah, you can tell everyone you see that Team Seven is the first of the genin squads to complete a C-rank!"

Sasuke, who was waiting nearby impatiently, rolled his eyes. "Idiot," he muttered.

Naruto ignored him. "I'm just saying, if you felt like mentioned it to anyone, that'd be fine. Don't tell people that I told you to tell them about it, that's lame. Just, you know, if you felt like it, it's totally okay to talk about how cool we are." He grinned broadly at the two shinobi and spun on his heel, marching off toward the Hokage's office.

Isa shook her head and followed. She only lagged slightly behind, and Kakashi kept pace with her, casually reading his book. Her chest was wrapped in bandages, not tightly enough to bruise her already battered ribs, but enough to allow her to move freely.

They wound their way up the main street of the village, toward the Hokage's office. It was one of the first really warm days of the month, and the summery weather had either driven people out to the rivers or indoors. The main street was emptier than usual because of that, and without crowds to contend with, they were standing at the door of the Hokage's office in a matter of minutes.

Kakashi knocked lightly, and at the answering "Come in," he opened the door. The Third Hokage was standing behind his desk, talking to Iruka Umino. When they entered, both men turned to face them. It was hard for Isa to read the Hokage's expression through the heavy wrinkles on his face, but his eyes glittered sharply as he took in their appearance. Iruka looked distraught, and he fixed Kakashi with a disapproving glower.

Kakashi brandished the assignment form, Mr. Oshiro's signature across the bottom of the paper. "There were some complications, sir," he said bluntly.

The Hokage chuckled lightly, folding his hands behind his back. "I can see that. What happened?"

"The men who were targeting Mr. Oshiro were a group of disgruntled farmers," Kakashi began. "They were being lead by three missing-nin from Iwagakure. On our second night there, the farmers tried to attack the house, but Naruto, Sasuke, and Isa intervened. They followed the ones who tried to flee but were ambushed by the missing-nin. They were taken captive and woke up in the caves the group were using a base of operations. They managed to escape and fought the missing-nin, killing one of them and capturing another. The third got away.

"I had discovered their absence and had followed their trail, but I ran into a group of shinobi from Iwagakure. After assessing that they weren't an immediate threat, I learned that they were hunting the missing-nin, and we made our way to the caves together. As soon as we got there, these three emerged and reported what had happened. The Iwa nin left to track down the final missing-nin and we returned to the village, where I immediately requested for a retrieval team to take the farmers we'd captured back to Konoha to face trial. After that, I deemed that the situation had been resolved and we returned home."

The Hokage looked at them silently for a moment as he absorbed the information. Iruka's eyebrows had disappeared under his forehead protector, it would have been comical if there wasn't such sadness in his eyes when he looked at her.

Finally, the Hokage cleared his throat and nodded. "I see. We can never predict how a mission will go, but it's certainly unusual for one to go quite like that. I'm going to recommend a psychiatric evaluation for all three of you," he said, nodding to Naruto, Sasuke, and Isa. "And I'd suggest returning to training for a while. I realize that you are all very eager to help the village any way you can, but the lives of our youth are our most precious treasure. You'll understand why I can't risk sending you out on dangerous missions until I'm certain that you've all fully recovered from this."

Naruto looked ready to retort unhappily, but his eyes flickered to Isa, and he hesitated. "Fine. But we'll be back!" He declared, frowning at the Hokage with intense determination. "Just wait, after we train more we'll be the strongest team you've ever seen!"

The Hokage chuckled again, shaking his head. "I'll hold you to that. Kakashi, take your brave shinobi to the hospital to get checked out. It seems like they might need it."

Kakashi nodded, planting a hand on Naruto and Sasuke's heads and ruffling their hair with an overly-cheerful smile. "Come on, kids, time to visit your new home away from home!"

Sasuke squirmed away from him, glaring at him like an overgrown, exceptionally unhappy cat. Naruto, whose hair was perpetually messy anyway, didn't seem to care, and bounded out of the room eagerly. They followed him, and just as the door was about to close behind Isa, Iruka slipped through. He smiled down at her, but there was still that sadness lingering in his gaze.

"Hi, Iruka-sensei," she said, smiling softly at him.

"Hey, Isa. How are you doing?"

She shrugged and tried to stifle the wince that followed, the movement pulling at the bandages wrapped around her chest. She knew Iruka had seen it, and her cheeks burned as she tugged her haori tighter around her.

"I'm okay," she lied, refusing to meet his eyes. He didn't believe her, but he didn't say anything as they made their way down the stairs and out onto the street. They fell behind the others as they walked, and Isa's eyes drifted upward, toward the sky. It was clear, bright blue stretched out above her, its color reflected in her eyes.

 _'It's a beautiful day.'_

And despite it all, it was. The air was warm, enveloping her like a gentle embrace, comforting without becoming stifling. There was jasmine growing nearby, its sweet scent drifting past her nose, though she could not see the flowers. They were probably secreted away on someone's balcony, a tiny private garden of flowers for them alone.

She turned the corner without thinking, following her teammates blindly as she gazed at the sky. The cobbled street was warm beneath her feet, and would have been too hot without her sandals. It was the kind of heat that made her want to run barefoot across it, just to see how long she could stand the pain.

"Isa," Iruka said slowly, interrupting her train of thought. She looked to him expectantly, with eyes that were endlessly blue. "Promise me you'll be careful, okay? You come back from your first real mission all bruised up and broken, and I'm worried. I'm worried about all of you, but I know better than to ask those two to be careful," he said, smiling ruefully as he nodded toward Naruto and Sasuke.

They were walking with Kakashi, and though Isa was only a few feet behind them, they seemed very far away. There was a great distance between them, she felt, between her and everyone, really. She was somehow removed, now. Separated. By what, she wasn't sure. But there was something there, something buried in her chest, a tiny kernel of loneliness that swept her far away from her teammates.

"You know I can't promise you that, either, Iruka-sensei," she said quietly. She sighed, looking back to the sky. "This is our job. You know it, I know it, Kakashi-sensei knows it. I don't know if I really expected it to be like this, but it makes sense, you know? It's hard and it's not fun and sometimes you get hurt, but that's just it. It's the job. This is what we signed up for, even if we didn't know it."

Iruka considered her silently for a minute, and there was something indecipherable in his eyes. Then, he laughed gently under his breath. "It's so easy to forget you're still a kid. You talk like an adult, like you know exactly what you're doing." He paused, and his smile turned sad again. "I just wish I could believe you. I want to, Isa, you know I do. I know how strong you three are, how strong all of you are, but you're still just kids. You're supposed to be kept safe."

Isa shook her head. "I think if you wanted to keep us safe you probably shouldn't have trained us to be shinobi."

Iruka snorted, and some of the sadness seemed to leave him. It still lingered around him, but it was lighter now, and it seemed to weigh less heavily on him. "You're right. You always were smart. Smart and strong. And Isa, whatever happens, you'll make it. You know that, right?" He gazed at her seriously, and she nodded.

"I think I'll be okay, eventually. Don't worry, Iruka-sensei, I have too many important things to do to let a couple injuries slow me down."

He opened his mouth to respond, but she didn't give him a chance. She broke into a jog, waving over her shoulder to Iruka as she quickly caught up with her teammates.

"I have to go now. Bye, Iruka-sensei!"

He lifted a hand in goodbye with a small smile, but as Kakashi paused to look back at her, Isa saw Iruka shoot him a meaningful look. "Kakashi, later?"

Kakashi glanced up at him, and Isa caught a glimmer of sharp knowing in his eyes as he looked away from her. But when he smiled at Iruka, there was no trace of it, gone in a flash. "Sure. I'll buy."

Iruka nodded and turned, walking back down the road alone. Isa watched him go until Kakashi tugged lightly on her ponytail.

He smiled down at her. "I know you're really excited to go to the hospital, but seriously, try to contain your happiness."

She would have laughed had her ribs not preemptively ached as if warning her. Instead, she rolled her eyes at him with a tired grin. "I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei, I didn't mean for my cheery good mood to rub off on you."

He chuckled, pulling his book out as they continued down the road. The hospital was just ahead, a tall, wide building full of windows. The roof was made of blue tile, and above the green double doors at the front of the building was the kanji for "healing". Naruto and Sasuke were already waiting at the entrance, with varying degrees of impatience.

As they approached, Naruto folded his hands behind his head, frowning at Kakashi. "So how long is this checkup thing supposed to take?"

"Why? You have an important date you can't miss?" Kakashi asked, flipping idly through his book.

Naruto blinked at him, nonplussed, then scoffed. "I have something way more important that some date! I've missed an entire week of ramen, I have so much to catch up on!"

Sasuke groaned aloud, brow creased in irritation. "Can we go now? I want to get this over with."

Kakashi sighed in mock sadness. "Everyone just wants to leave now, no one wants to spend time together. It makes me sad."

"Kakashi-sensei, don't be weird," Naruto whined. "Let's go!"

Kakashi sighed and shook his head. "Fine, fine. We'll start training up again in a couple days, in the meantime, rest up." He waved them ahead, and they filed into the hospital.

Isa peered around with vague curiosity. She hadn't been to the hospital many times before, mostly for the birth of cousins or the few times she had been exceptionally sick as a child. It still looked mostly the same as she remembered, though. The front doors opened onto a large, airy waiting area, and the front desk was directly across from the doors, against the back wall of the building. There were hallways that branched out on both sides of the waiting area, leading to the various wings of the hospital. The building itself was three stories tall, though Isa knew that the third floor was reserved for doctors offices and long-term patients.

The receptionist at the front desk smiled as they approached. "Can I help you?" She asked.

"We're here for post-mission checkups," Kakashi said, his face still buried in his book.

The woman's smile didn't waver in the face of his obvious disinterest. "Great! I'll show each of you to your checkup rooms, then. Follow me, please!"

She hopped to her feet and took off with an armful of clipboards. As she walked, she asked for their names, jotting them down on the clipboards and attaching each of them to four different doors. "Here we are!" She gestured to the rooms, smiling perkily. "Nurses will be along shortly to perform your checkups!"

After that, Isa found herself alone in a small hospital room. It had the horrible too-clean smell of sanitizer, and she shifted uncomfortably on the hospital bed as she sat down. It was utterly silent in the room, and only tiny snippets of noise drifted through the crack under the door.

Isa stared out the window next to the bed, watching people pass by on the street outside. It was the first time she'd been alone since before they'd left on the mission, and the solitude was strangely uncomfortable. She never spent much time by herself in general, but it wasn't unusual for her to be in her room alone, or sit out in the garden early in the morning before anyone else was awake. But it had always felt peaceful before, not empty, like it did now.

It was grating, and the yawning silence made her fidget. It brought to mind the horrible rushing noise that had filled her head after Koji had died. It had been as if all of her senses had shut down, and all she could feel was the slickness of his blood on her hands. Just the blood and the horrible, horrible rushing sound.

 _'Stop. I'm not thinking about this right now. I'm keeping it together, I won't lose it on a hospital bed all by myself. Just like I told Iruka-sensei, I have too many important things to do to let this slow me down. I just need to take some deep breaths and keep going, I'll be fine.'_

She stood abruptly, moving over to the window and pulling it open. The air outside felt too hot now, compared to the cool air of the hospital, but at least there was noise. She could hear the distant sounds of life in the village, and she took deep breaths, trying to ease her nausea.

Just as the dark spots of wooziness began to clear from her vision, there was a knock at the door. Isa turned, almost impressed with how quickly a nurse had arrived, only to see Sakura Haruno poking her head into the room.

She frowned, confused. "Sakura?" Her long pink hair was up in a messy bun and she was wearing the white uniform of the Medic Corps, but it was definitely still Sakura.

Sakura smiled at her brightly and closed the door behind her before scooping Isa into a hug. "Hi! I know this is weird, but, um... surprise?"

Isa grunted in pain, her ribs protesting as Sakura squeezed her. "Surprise? Surprise what? What are you doing here?" She asked.

Sakura stepped back, flushing slightly. "I kinda work here now. That's the surprise."

"You work here? How do you have time to work here and train, too?" Isa asked. Her nausea was forgotten, and she was immensely grateful for Sakura's sudden appearance, despite being very confused.

Sakura laughed awkwardly, tucking her loose bangs behind one ear self-consciously. "Yeah, that another thing. I'm not training! Surprise!"

Isa stared at her, dumbfounded. "What do you mean you're not training?"

Sakura sighed and sat down on the hospital bed. "You know how all of the jonin instructors tested the new teams? My team didn't pass the test. My sensei said that we didn't know how to work together yet, we had no sense of teamwork, so she sent us back to the Academy. But I decided that I didn't want to waste another year at the Academy so I came here instead, and I'm training to be in the Medic Corps. It's not the same, but it's pretty close, and I'm good at it, so." She shrugged, looking up at Isa as if she was almost afraid of what her reaction would be.

Isa sat down beside her on the bed, frowning thoughtfully. "So you're okay, then? You're happy doing this?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, I am. I wasn't sure about it at first, and obviously it sucks that my team didn't make it, but, I don't know, this feels right to me, you know?"

Isa thought of her own team and nodded slowly. "I get that. I'm glad you're happy, though. And I'm sorry that I haven't really been around, I had no idea what you've been going through. I'm kind of a crap friend." She smiled apologetically at Sakura, who laughed.

"No, it's okay! Honestly, I was pretty much avoiding everyone for a while after it happened. I was embarrassed. Besides, you've been busy. Speaking of, are you okay? I heard the nurses talking about you guys, they said you just got back from a C-rank and you're pretty banged up."

Isa shrugged. "I'm not too bad. The worst is past now, I think, it's just my ribs that need fixing."

Sakura frowned and raised her hands. "Can I?" She asked, waiting until Isa nodded before gently placing her hands against her ribs. She was gentle, but thorough, pushing and prodding her way around Isa's ribcage. After a minute, she sat back. "I'm pretty sure you have a broken rib," she said, grimacing in sympathy. "Does it hurt when you breathe?"

"Sometimes. Deep breaths hurt, but just normal breaths are usually okay."

She nodded, hand resting against her chin. "Well, that's good. And since you're standing here and not coughing up blood or passed out, you definitely don't have a collapsed lung and nothing is torn, so there's no internal bleeding. Really, there's not a lot to do about broken ribs. You just need to take it easy for a while and it'll heal on its own."

Sakura's voice had taken on a confident, almost scholarly tone, and Isa smiled as she spoke. "Thank you, Nurse Sakura."

Sakura laughed and rolled her eyes. "Shut up!" She bumped her with a shoulder and Isa giggled quietly. Sakura sobered after a moment, staring at Isa seriously. "I'm glad you're okay. I know you've probably been through some pretty rough stuff, so I'm here for you if you ever want to talk, alright? We can have a girl's night."

Isa nodded, smiling softly. "We'll definitely have a girl's night soon, I promise."

"We'd better! I guess I should probably get going now before people start thinking I ran off." Sakura leaned over to hug Isa again before hopping off the bed. "Remember, take it easy for a while, okay? Oh, and tell Ino that she still has my red t-shirt!"

"I will!" Isa promised, waving as Sakura left the room. The door shut behind her and Isa was alone for what seemed like only a minute before there was a knock and a pretty young woman entered. She was wearing the Medic Corps uniform just like Sakura, and her long black hair was tied back from her face. She smiled at Isa as she entered.

"Hi there! I'm Junko, I'll be performing your checkup today." She briefly scanned the clipboard in her hands. "You're Isa Yamanaka, right?"

Isa nodded. "Nice to meet you, Miss Junko."

Junko giggled. "Aw, you don't have to call me Miss Junko, just Junko is alright. Now, let's take a look at you. Can you tell me what hurts?"

Isa told her the same thing she'd told Sakura, and Junko listened attentively, jotting down notes on her clipboard. "On a scale of one to ten, where would you rank your pain?" She asked.

"A four, maybe? Mostly it's a two or three, but sometimes it hurts more and that's probably a four or five," Isa replied. She shrugged. "It's not that bad."

Junko nodded. "Well, we can prescribe you some pain medication if you'd like it, but other than that there's not much we can do about a broken rib. As long as you don't push yourself, it'll heal naturally in about six weeks."

Isa nodded. "I don't want any pain medication, I'll just be sure to take it easy for a while." She smiled up at Junko. "Can I please go now?"

Junko perused her clipboard for another moment, but she was smiling. "Yes, you can go. Just make sure you're here for your psychiatric evaluation three days from now! It's at ten in the morning, here, I'll give you this as a reminder." She pulled a paper free from her clipboard and handed it to Isa.

On it was printed the details of her scheduled evaluation, including the date and time. Isa folded it and carefully tucked it away.

"Thank you, Junko. Have a good day!" She slid off of the hospital bed and waved to her nurse as she left the room. A cursory check told her that Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi were already gone, their chakra presences nowhere nearby. Isa left the hospital, turning onto the street as she began to make her way home.

 _'Kakashi-sensei is probably hanging out with Asuma-sensei, or maybe he's just asleep somewhere. I bet Naruto's eating ramen. What does Sasuke do for fun? He probably spends all his free time practicing his broody face.'_

She smirked, the mental image of Sasuke glaring into a mirror popping into her head. The walk back home was a peaceful one, she stuck to the side streets, avoiding the main road in favor of quieter paths. It was past midday now, but the sun was only barely beginning to curve down toward the horizon again. Isa tried to enjoy the walk, ignoring the pit of dread in her stomach that only seemed to get heavier the closer she got to home.

Finally, she stood before the front door, shaded by a trellis full of wisteria, and she knocked. Her mother was home, she could feel her presence inside, and her footsteps as she approached the door. Isa's hands were shaking as she waited, and she clasped them behind her back, swallowing hard.

The door opened and Hanako Yamanaka stood behind it, smiling genially for a split second before she spotted Isa. Isa watched the spark of recognition in her eyes turn into joy and then, when her eyes flickered across her face, fear.

"Isa?! Oh, my love, what happened to you?" Hanako knelt before her, pulling Isa into a tight hug. Her mother's arms were shaking, and Isa buried her face into Hanako's shoulder, tears welling in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, mommy," she said, her voice muffled against Hanako's shirt.

Hanako shook her head and pulled away slightly, just enough to peer at Isa's face. She smoothed a hand over Isa's cheek, wiping away a tear. "We were so worried about you. Are you okay, Isa?"

She shook her head mutely. Hanako stood and wrapped an arm around Isa's shoulders, pulling her inside. She guided her to the living room and they sat down on the futon. Isa curled up against her mother and a bone-deep weariness washed over her. Her mother began running her fingers through Isa's hair, pulling it out of its ponytail.

For the first time in a week, Isa was at peace. "The bad guys got a few hits in on me," she said quietly, closing her eyes as she relaxed against her mother.

"I can see that. How are you feeling?"

"Tired, mostly," she said. "I want to curl up and sleep for three weeks."

"Sleep, then. I'll wake you up when dinner is ready," Hanako said, pressing a kiss to Isa's forehead.

Isa protested half-heartedly, but Hanako just shushed her and continued running her fingers through her hair until she fell asleep, not ten minutes later.

It seemed as if she was asleep for only a second, the hours passing in the space of a blink. When Isa's eyes fluttered open, her father was leaning over her, watching her with worried eyes.

She smiled up at him sleepily. "Hey, daddy."

He smiled back at her, and it was only a little ragged around the edges, shadowed by the dark bags under his eyes. "Hey, baby girl. Welcome home."

"I'm sorry I left without saying goodbye," she said. "I should have done more than just leave a note."

Inoichi sighed and sat back. "You won't always be able to leave even that much. Sometimes missions will spring up with no warning and you won't have time to let us know. The most we can hope for is that you'll be careful and you'll come home safely."

Isa sat up and scooted closer to her father, snuggling against him. "I tried to be careful. I always try to be smart, just like you taught me."

Inoichi looped an arm around her shoulders and chuckled softly. "I know you do. Being smart doesn't always mean you won't get hurt, though. I guess you learned that the hard way." He brushed a finger over her cheek, where Isa could only assume there was a bruise.

She grimaced up at him, chagrined. "Yeah. I have a broken rib now, I'm not supposed to train for six weeks."

"Well, it's a good thing not all training requires you to push yourself physically. I'm sure you'll find plenty of ways to spend your time until you've built up your strength again. Speaking of, I think your mother has finished making dinner. You hungry?"

Isa nodded emphatically. "I get to eat real food again! I'm so tired of eating rations!"

Inoichi laughed, standing up. Isa joined him, following him into the kitchen. Hanako was setting up tableware on the small dining table that was tucked into the corner, and she smiled as they entered.

"Feeling better?" She asked.

Isa nodded. "A little. Where's Ino?" She asked, eying the three place settings.

"She's out on a mission, she'll be back later tonight," Inoichi said. He sat down at the table with a wry grin. "Ever since you left, she's been forcing the boys out on missions every day."

"Shikamaru and Choji must be miserable," Isa said, smiling. She sat down and began to load her plate with food. Ever since Isa could remember, her mother had been a good cook, and it was a talent that Isa had unfortunately not inherited. Her stomach grumbled loudly as if urging her to hurry up, a reminder that she'd hardly eaten that day.

"Ino's good for them," Hanako said as she sat down. "They need a someone to push them sometimes, otherwise I'm not sure they'd do anything."

Isa smiled softly and they settled into a comfortable silence as they ate. Afterwards, after helping clean up the dinner table, Isa retreated to her room. She collapsed onto her bed with a heavy sigh, spreading out across the sheets. She couldn't remember a time her bed had felt so nice. She watched the sun set through her window for a while, and when she began to feel sleep tugging at her again, she changed out of her dirty traveling clothes.

She crawled into her bed in a loose tank-top and shorts, curling up under the blankets. She didn't remember falling asleep, but when she opened her eyes again, Ino was shaking her.

"Move over," she said, voice hushed. Isa yawned and shifted, scooting over to let Ino climb into the bed with her. She could still see the moon hanging in the sky outside her window, so it couldn't have been too late, but her sense of time was distorted by a haze of sleepiness.

"What're you doing?" Isa mumbled, blinking blearily at her sister.

"Saying hi," Ino replied. She settled down beside Isa in bed, and Isa could feel the cold still radiated from her skin. She'd probably only just gotten home.

 _'At least she changed before climbing in here.'_

"Hi," Isa said.

"Hi. So, how was the fancy C-rank?"

Isa half-shrugged. "Not great. We ran into some missing-nin from Iwagakure."

Ino snorted. "Of course your first real mission goes horribly wrong. You got them, right?"

"Yeah. One of them beat me up a bit, though. And then a bunch of Iwa shinobi showed up, it was weird."

Ino frowned, her face barely illuminated by the moonlight streaming through the window. "They showed up to collect the missing-nin? That's not that weird, is it?"

Isa shook her head. "No, but there were probably eight shinobi there just to track down three missing-nin. And we fought them, they weren't that strong. I mean, if three genin can defeat them, then why are eight shinobi necessary?"

"Hmm. Maybe it wasn't that they were strong, maybe they stole important stuff from the village?" Ino mused.

"Maybe," Isa said through a yawn. "But... Ino, they didn't want to go back. As soon as they knew that the Iwa shinobi were there, it was like they just became desperate to escape. Before they'd been fighting to actually defeat us."

"Well, missing-nin are usually criminals, right? They probably didn't want to go back because they knew they'd have to face the consequences for whatever they did."

"I guess. I just wish I knew what'd they'd done, and why they were being hunted by so many shinobi." Isa sighed, chewing on her bottom lip.

Ino wrinkled her nose. "Why?"

"I don't know, I just feel like it has to matter, you know? I've just... I've never seen that kind of desperation before." Isa could feel Ino frowning at her, and she rolled onto her back, looking away from her sister.

"What happened?" Ino asked. When Isa didn't respond, Ino scooted closer, her head laying next to Isa's. "What's wrong? You're being weird."

Isa took a deep, slow breath, wincing at the twinge of pain in her ribs. "I was fighting one of them, I think he was mostly a genjutsu user. But we were fighting, and we were pretty evenly matched, but when he heard that the Iwagakure shinobi were coming for them, he just jumped at me. I had a knife, and he just jumped on top of me. It... happened really fast."

Ino was silent for a moment, a heavy, uncharacteristic solemnity in her eyes. "What happened?" She repeated, quieter this time.

There were tears brimming in Isa's eyes again, and she wiped them away forcefully. "I killed him, Ino. I didn't mean to, but I did."

Ino didn't say anything, she just reached over and pulled Isa close, holding her until Isa broke down in tears. She curled into Ino's arms, crying silently until she was spent.

Eventually, she fell asleep in her sister's arms, tears still drying on her face.

* * *

AN: Surprise, I actually wrote this chapter in a reasonable amount of time! I know that not a lot of "important" stuff happens in this chapter, but I like it regardless. It was nice to spend time with characters that I don't get to write for as much. The next chapter will probably be a more relaxed one, like this one, before we launch into the next story arc. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated, and I hope everyone continues to enjoy this!


	8. Chapter Eight: Tiny Fragile Thing

_Meet me in the blue bed_  
 _I'll be drawing out your flaws_  
 _And clawing at what's caused_  
 _My knees to tremble_

* * *

Morning sunlight filtered through the trees, the leaves casting dappled green shadows over the ground. The forest was peaceful here, the trees old, their branches forming a canopy over the forest floor. Beneath, between the winding roots, was grass and ferns, moss growing along bark, sprinkled with tiny white flowers. There was a gentle breeze that stirred occasionally, sending the leaves dancing. The sound of the wind was the only sound in the forest, save for the faint trickling of a nearby stream.

The forest was quite small, in reality, tucked away beside the Nara clan compound. It was quiet, however, removed from the busy village noise, though it was only a few blocks away from the heart of Konoha. Near the center of the copse was a clearing, the canopy parting to reveal a patch of blue sky above. In the center of the clearing stood a tall stone, weathered and moss-covered. On the flattened front of the stone were carved three symbols, faded with age, their edges dulled by countless hands running over them. It was flanked by two stone pillars, the candles in each of them long burned out. The stones were surrounded by grass and mossy ground, and a small, winding path lead away from the clearing, vanishing into the trees.

Isa sat at the base of the memorial, her back resting against the stone and her legs folded underneath her. She was plucking grass from beside her, deftly weaving it into a braided circlet. Her hair was down, pooling on the ground around her, and her training outfit was clean, the stains of blood and dirt washed out. The bruises on her face were fading, casting dark shadows over her skin where they shouldn't be. Hidden beneath her shirt, her side was still dark and mottled, her ribs twinging occasionally whenever she moved too quickly.

Shikamaru was sprawled on the grass in front of her, his eyes closed and his hands tucked behind his head. A shoji board lay beside them, littered with pieces and half-forgotten strategies. They were quiet, sitting together without speaking. An air of contentment had settled over the clearing, an easy silence stretching between the two. Near the edge of the clearing, just under the shade of the trees, a bluebird was picking at the ground, its feathers glinting in the shadows.

Careful fingers braided the final blade of grass into the circlet and Isa sat back, looking at it critically. Satisfied, she placed it on her head, where it perched lopsided across her forehead. She shifted, uncurling her legs from beneath her, and nudged Shikamaru with one foot.

"Shika, are you awake?" Her voice was quiet, and the bird under the trees didn't even lift its head, as if it was accustomed to her presence. Shikamaru's eyes slanted open and he raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her. Isa pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin atop them, frowning down at him. "What should I do?"

"About what? If you're asking if I think you should become a famous actress and buy me a nice house and so much food that I'd never have to leave the house again, then the answer is definitely yes," Shikamaru mumbled in response.

Isa giggled, nudging him again with her foot. "No, I'm being serious!"

He grunted as her foot pressed into his side. "Alright, but I'm just saying, if you wanted to do that then I completely support it."

"I mean, I was going to ask you that exact question, since becoming a famous actress and buying you things is my life goal," Isa said, trying not to smile.

Shikamaru grinned as he sat up, leaning back on his hands. "So what's wrong?" He asked, his joking demeanor fading.

Isa sighed. "Nothing's wrong, really. I just don't know what to do now. I'm still hurt and the doctor told me I can't train for six weeks, and I don't know what to do."

"We could hang out and do nothing the entire time? Save me from your sister?" He suggested, only half-joking.

She smiled despite herself. "I can't do that. There's no escaping Ino when she's decided she wants something."

"Yeah," he said, sounding so resigned that Isa laughed.

She sobered quickly, however, her smile fading. "I can't do nothing for six weeks, though. Not when Naruto and Sasuke are going to be training every day. And what about missions? Do I not go on missions for six weeks?" She sighed again, pouting unhappily. "So what do I do?"

Shikamaru took a deep breath, looking up at the patch of sky above them thoughtfully. "How long have we known each other?" He asked after a moment.

Isa blinked, brow furrowed in confusion. "Uh... forever?"

He nodded. "Right. So all that time it's been you and Ino leading the way. Me and Choji have always been following you two around, even though you're annoying and bossy." He grinned at her affronted expression. "But that's the thing, isn't it? You're both so headstrong, I don't think anyone could ever stop you from doing what you wanted.

"So you could listen to the doctor and sit on the sidelines for six weeks, but I don't think that's you. And I think you know that already, and you already know that you're going to do what you want even when other people think you shouldn't." He shrugged and looked back to her, the sunlight highlighting the green flecks in his dark eyes.

Isa stared at him for a long minute, a smile slowly easing the tension in her eyes. "How come you only say smart stuff like that when no one else is around?" She asked, looking at him fondly.

"Too much work if everyone thought I was genius. They'd make me do things," Shikamaru said dismissively, but there was a glimmer of pride in his eyes.

She laughed. "Oh, you're a genius now? Please tell me the secrets of the universe, Shika-sensei!"

He shook his head sagely. "I can't, you're not ready for that kind of power."

"Oh, please, I'm way stronger than you." She scoffed.

"That's true, you're very strong and scary." He raised his hands in acquiescence. "Very well, you have graduated, you're no longer my student. The secret to life is the number forty-two."

She snapped her fingers triumphantly, and from under the trees the bluebird was startled into flight. It flew into the patch of sky and disappeared over the trees, chirping loudly. "I knew it!" Isa exclaimed, giggling. She looked up at the sky and her expression became contemplative for a moment.

"Thank you," she said. Her eyes tracked a cloud as it skidded across the sky, and a quiet sort of certainty seemed to settle within her. "Maybe you're right, maybe I already knew what I wanted deep down, but I think I needed to hear it anyway. Everyone else wants to keep me safe, Mom and Dad, even Kakashi-sensei, they all treat me like a little girl."

Shikamaru smiled ruefully. "I just know better than to ever try to hold you back."

Isa clambered to her feet and offered hand hand to Shikamaru. "Come on, we have training to get to."

Shikamaru groaned but took her hand, letting her pull him to his feet. She followed him along the path out of the clearing, glancing over her shoulder at the memorial stone before it slipped out of view. The symbols of the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans stared back at her, reminders of the oaths their clans had taken, their promise to protect each other. She squared her shoulders and turned back, ignoring the ache in her ribs as she ducked beneath a low-hanging branch.

 _'I'll prove that no one has to take care of me. Shikamaru's right, I can do this!'_

The thought bolstered her, and after pausing to say goodbye to Shikaku and Yoshino Nara, she beelined for the bridge when Team Seven met. It was still early in the morning, the sun barely cresting over the roofs of the houses she passed, but it was already warm. Summer was beginning to set in fully now, and Isa knew that it was only a matter of time until the heavy, oppressive heat began creeping into even the early morning hours. For now, it was still pleasant outside, and the sky above was nearly cloudless, an endless tract of bright blue above her. As she walked, she pulled her hair into a ponytail, tossing her grass circlet away sadly.

When she arrived, Isa was alone. She hopped up to sit on the wide railing of the bridge, feet swinging over the water below her. The river coursed quickly, rippling and sparkling in the morning sun. The village was quiet, most people still asleep, and Isa soaked in the peacefulness of solitude. It was why she'd gone to visit the memorial in the first place, the creeping need to get away from people had crawled thickly up her back and she'd left home early, just as the sun was peeking over the horizon.

She'd been home for five days now, and after the third day the constant hovering of her family had become grating. She knew that they only did it because they worried about her, but the sense of being fragile prickled uncomfortably at her skin. So she'd fled from her mother's concerned looks and Ino's uncharacteristic quiet whenever she looked at Isa, retreating to the one place she knew she would be left alone. The memorial was a special place for the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi families, but more than that, it had always been Isa's safe place.

She remembered being very young, running away from home after fighting with Ino, a childish act of anger and defiance. She'd wandered through Konoha for a few hours with her "run away" backpack and her stuffed toy giraffe, believing herself to be on a great adventure. Looking back, Isa was sure her father had been following her the entire time, watching over her until he anger exhausted itself and she was ready to return home. She'd eventually ended up at the memorial, though, and had fallen asleep in front of it, too tired to continue running away for now.

Shikamaru had found her that time, too, she realized. He'd woken her up and she'd gone with him back to his house, where Yoshino Nara made hot cocoa for them. Tiny, teary-eyed Isa had told Shikamaru her grand tale of running away, explaining in great detail how Ino was mean and had hurt her feelings. Shikamaru had nodded along, very serious, and had declared that Isa would be his new sister and she could live with him from then on. Isa had been terribly excited about it until her father had finally showed up and Isa, suddenly realized that she'd missed her family in the handful of hours she'd been away, decided to go home with him.

It was the first and only time Isa had run away, but the memorial had always been her quiet place after that time. And more often than not, Shikamaru found her there, sitting with her until she was ready to talk about whatever was bothering her. It was a familiar ritual of theirs now, one that Isa found comfort in. Shikamaru was one of the few people who really knew her, Isa thought. Even Ino had been looking at her lately as if she wasn't quite sure who she was any more, a strange uncertainty in her eyes every time she looked at Isa.

Isa frowned and gazed into the water, watching the flash of iridescent scales as fish swam past beneath her. Where were they going, she wondered, perhaps bound for a stream or a lake far away.

 _'Maybe they're trying to get to the ocean. Maybe all fish really just want to get to the ocean. I think if I was a fish I'd want to see the sea.'_

Konoha was far from the coast, tucked up against a mountain range. The surrounding lands were criss-crossed with rivers, dotted with lakes and valleys that were nestled between hills and mountains. And everywhere, there were trees. Isa had never seen the ocean, had only heard stories about it from adults, her parents and Shikamaru's and Choji's, who'd gone on missions long ago that had taken them all over the world. It had always seemed not quite real, like volcanoes or huge deserts, so removed from the world she knew.

Isa was roused from her thoughts by the sound of whistling. She looked up, peering toward the road. Naruto was walking leisurely toward the bridge, his hair shining golden in the sun. He waved cheerfully as he approached.

"Hey, Isa! Why are you here so early?" He asked, jumping on to the railing to sit beside her.

She smiled softly. "I'm not that early. Why are you here so early?" She countered.

"I woke up super early because I was hungry, so I went looking for food but I didn't have anything at home. So then I had to go and find a place that was open that early, and that took forever. But I found a little tiny bakery that's behind the hot springs, I didn't even know it was there," he said, his speech punctuated with emphatic arm gestures. He was so bright, so animated, that Isa couldn't help but laugh. He shot her a look, as if not sure whether she was laughing out of joy or mockery.

"I'm sorry!" She said, waving a hand hurriedly as she giggled. "You're just so funny! Keep going, please."

He blinked, almost taken aback, then grinned widely. "Okay, so I found this bakery and I bought like five donuts and they were amazing. One of them had boysenberry filling, by the way, I didn't even know that was a thing. But then I left and went back home and showered and stuff and then I thought I'd lost my forehead protector so I spent a while looking for that. I found it, don't worry. And then I guess I came here? I think that's it." He nodded, satisfied with his storytelling.

Isa stifled another giggle, smiling at him. "Your life is way more exciting than mine," she said. "I just woke up early and left the house because I'm tired of everyone looking at me like I'm going to start crying any second." She wrinkled her nose, looking back over the water with a sullen expression.

Naruto squinted at her for a moment. "Why? You look fine. All your bruises are going away. Is it the whole... dead guy thing?" He asked, hesitating a little.

She shrugged. "I don't know, maybe. My parents don't think I was ready for that kind of a mission, especially with the way it ended. And Ino just looks at me like she's afraid of me now, like I've changed or something."

Naruto frowned. "You seem the same to me. Do you feel different?"

Isa thought of the nightmares that had plagued her since she'd returned to Konoha and the moments when she was sure that she could still feel blood on her hands. "No. I'm fine," she said, voice hardening. "I just want people to stop treating me like I'm not."

Naruto watched her out of the corner of his eye, and there was a peculiar sharpness to his gaze. It was gone in a second, though, vanishing behind a smile. "Don't worry, I'm sure everything will go back to normal soon! I just wanna get back to training!" His smile disappeared behind a frown and he huffed petulantly.

Isa nodded. "Me too. I wish Kakashi-sensei would actually teach us something, I feel like I haven't really learned anything."

"I know! I just wanna learn cool new jutsus and go on missions!" Naruto crossed his arms over his chest. "Why can't we do that?"

Isa smiled ruefully. "Maybe we should hold off on the missions for a little bit, at least," she said. "We should probably be stronger before we go out on a mission like the last one."

He opened his mouth to retort, but sighed instead, nodding reluctantly. "Yeah, you're right."

"We should ask Kakashi-sensei to start teaching us new jutsus," Isa said. "Make sure he knows that we're taking it seriously."

Naruto's eyes glinted suddenly, his mouth curling into a mischievous smile. "Or we could learn on our own," he said, voice dropping conspiratorially. "You know how I can do the Shadow Clone Jutsu? I guess it's a super high level jutsu, I was never supposed to know it. But I found this secret scroll, right? And I read it and it had the Shadow Clone Jutsu so I learned it. What if we tried to find the scroll again? Or a different scroll that has other powerful jutsus we can learn?"

Isa frowned, but her response was interrupted by a scoff from behind them. "You're an idiot," Sasuke said. Isa craned her neck to find the dark-haired boy leaning against the railing on the opposite side of the bridge. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was glowering at Naruto from under his bangs. "You seriously think you'd be able to steal a secret scroll of powerful jutsus and actually get away with it?"

Naruto shrugged, his jaw tightening. "I did it once already." He met Sasuke's gaze, a clear challenge in his eyes. "What, too scared to break the rules, Sasuke?"

Sasuke sneered. "I don't care about the rules, I'm just smart enough to know when not to break them."

Isa stood, balancing on the railing. "We don't need a secret scroll, and it's unlikely that we'd be able to use jutsus at that level, anyway." Naruto face fell a little, looking dejected. "We can still train on our own, though. We can all get stronger, as long as you two agree to actually try to work together." She shot each of them a stern look. "No more of this little kid fighting."

Sasuke rolled his eyes but said nothing. Naruto grumbled, shooting Sasuke a dark glance. "I will if he will."

Isa looked to Sasuke expectantly. He met her gaze, but his eyes were inscrutable. "Whatever," he muttered, pushing off from the railing and sulking off. Isa shrugged at Naruto and stepped lightly from the railing, following Sasuke toward the Third Training Ground. After a minute, Naruto caught up with her, his hands shoved into his pockets.

They followed the road until it ended, turning into a dirt path that wound through the trees. The Third Training Ground opened up before them, the memorial stone rising proudly at the mouth of the clearing. Beyond it, the wide grassy area was empty, and the river sparkled brightly as if welcoming them. Kakashi was sitting at the base of the memorial stone, reading. He looked up when they entered the clearing, waving at them with one of his eye-curl smiles.

"Geez, Kakashi-sensei, we were waiting for you at the bridge!" Naruto exclaimed, frowning at their teacher.

Kakashi laughed, running a hand through his hair sheepishly. "Oops! I guess I forgot to tell you guys that we'd just be meeting here from now on. Well, I guess it's okay since you all found your way here eventually."

Isa and Naruto shared an unimpressed look, and Sasuke just rolled his eyes. Kakashi stood, tucking his book away, and planted his hands on his hips. "Okay, team, how is everyone feeling?" He asked, looking pointedly at Isa.

She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at him. "I'm fine!"

Kakashi regarded her closely, his single visible eye evaluative. "Seriously, Isa, if you want to take it easy for a little while, it's okay. We'd all understand."

She sighed, an angry rush of air through her nose. "I just told you, I'm fine! Can we train, please?"

Kakashi shrugged, but he didn't seem satisfied. For the moment, however, he let it drop, fishing in a pocket of his jacket. He produced a handful of small pieces of paper, presenting them to the three genin. "Alright, everyone take one."

Sasuke took one first, eyes narrowed in suspicion. As he held it between his thumb and forefinger, the paper started smoking. Suddenly, it burst into flame, the scrap of paper consumed in an instant. He shook the ashes out of his hand and Isa almost laughed at the look of genuine confusion on his face.

Naruto, fascinated by the paper's reaction to Sasuke, reached out and took a piece of his own. He held it in the palm of his hand, watching it intently. A moment passed, and then the paper seemed to tear itself in two, splitting apart in his hand. He grinned triumphantly, though he didn't seem certain of what he'd just accomplished.

Isa took the third piece of paper, turning it over in her fingers. It was thin and slightly rough, cut into a small, perfect square. Physically, it was unremarkable, but when she reached out with her senses, she found the paper deeply infused with chakra. As she withdrew her senses, her curiosity growing, the paper began to grow heavy, a damp spot spreading across it.

Kakashi had watched the three of them carefully, and when they all looked up to him questioningly, he pulled a final piece of paper from his pocket. It crinkled in his hand, wrinkles spreading across it. "I was thinking the other day that it's probably about time you three started learning some new jutsus, but then I realized that you don't know what your chakra affinities are. And that's a problem, because you'll be better at jutsus that use a nature transformation you're naturally attuned to. So I thought, hey, let's figure out our affinities, that'll make it easier to figure out what kind of jutsus you guys want to learn."

Naruto poked at the torn paper in his hand. "And this paper can do that?" He asked, frowning.

"It does have a lot of chakra in it," Isa said, shaking the scraps of soggy paper off of her hand.

Kakashi nodded. "The paper is made from special trees that are fed chakra as they grow. I'm sure other nations have different methods, but this is how we determine chakra affinity. You saw my paper wrinkle, that means I have an affinity for lightning transformations."

"How is affinity decided in the first place, though?" Isa asked. "Is it a genetic thing? Is it random? Does it run in families?"

"Fire affinity runs in my family," Sasuke muttered.

"It can be genetic," Kakashi said. "Not always, though."

"I guess I have an affinity for water transformation?" Isa asked. "Since the paper got wet?"

"What about me?" Naruto asked.

"When the paper splits in two, that means the person has an affinity for wind transformation. When the paper gets wet, that's water transformation," Kakashi said, nodding at Isa. "When it catches on fire, that's fire transformation. Wrinkles, that's lightning. And if it turns to dirt and crumbles up, that's earth."

"I wonder if my parents had an affinity for wind transformation, too," Naruto said, sounding far away, as if he was thinking aloud.

Something in Kakashi's eyes softened for a second, and Isa was sure she wouldn't have caught it if she hadn't been watching him already. But as soon as she saw it, it was gone, and his eye snapped up to meet hers. There was a knowing glint in his eye, somewhere between amused and guarded.

"So what now?" She asked, hands on her hips. "Do we start learning new jutsus?"

"Not today," He replied. Naruto groaned, crestfallen. Kakashi chuckled, waving a hand to placate the distraught boy. "We'll get there, don't worry. But in order to perform more powerful jutsus, you need to have excellent chakra control. The level you've been operating at has worked for all of you so far, you're able to perform enough jutsus that you can hold your own against an enemy, provided they're not that much stronger than you. But if you three really want to start improving, you need to perfect your chakra control."

"How do we do that?" Sasuke asked intently. He appeared genuinely interested in the conversation for once, and Isa blinked at him in surprise.

"We'll be starting with basic techniques today," Kakashi said. "For starters, I want you all to pick a tree."

Naruto spun, quickly finding the tallest tree and racing toward it. "This one's mine!" He shouted, planting a hand on its trunk. Sasuke glared at him and immediately picked the second tallest tree, standing beside it with an expression of intense determination. Isa glanced back at Kakashi.

"Does it matter how tall the tree is?" She asked. He shook his head, chuckling. She grinned and moved to stand beside the tree next to Naruto's.

"Okay," Kakashi said as soon as they were all standing beside their chosen trees. "Now I want you to walk up the tree."

Naruto's face was completely blank. "What?"

"Walk up the tree," Kakashi repeated, as if it was a perfectly ordinary request.

Isa looked at her tree, frowning. She placed a hand on its trunk, the bark rough beneath her fingers. She chewed on her bottom lip, the wheels turning in her head. "Chakra control," she muttered under the breath, more to herself than anyone else. "How do we use chakra control to walk up a tree?"

She concentrated, pulling on her chakra. It responded instantly, flowing through her body easily. She focused on her hand, pooling her chakra there.

 _'Not too much. Chakra can be manifested physically, right? So if I use just enough chakra, I should be able to stick to the tree. Probably.'_

When she pulled her hand away from the trunk, it was like try to pull away with sap stuck to her hand. There was a moment of resistance, a clingy, sticky feeling, and then it gave and her hand came free. Isa smiled and placed her hand on the bark again. She tried again, this time pooling more chakra into her hand. It came away again, but the moment of resistance was slightly longer.

Her fingers tingled with excitement, and she glanced at Naruto and Sasuke to gauge their progress. Naruto was taking running leaps at the tree, maybe hoping that he'd be able to run high enough up the trunk that he could grab onto one of the low branches. Sasuke was standing at the base of his tree, watching her. She met his gaze, and a sudden flash of self-consciousness came over her. There was a hint of challenge in his eyes, though, as if he knew she had it and he was daring her to prove it.

She narrowed her eyes at him and tossed her hair, turning back to her tree. She stepped back, settling her height back on one foot. Taking a moment to center herself, Isa drew her focus inward, pooling her chakra in her feet.

 _'Same concept, just find the balance. I know I can do this.'_

She took off running, feet leaving the air as she jumped. Her foot landed on the trunk of the tree and she felt her chakra cling to the bark. It sunk into the gaps in the wood, sinking in and sticking like sap. She pushed off, taking another running step up the tree. Below her, she saw Naruto pause, gaping at her. A bubble of elation burst in her chest, and she grinned triumphantly, even as she felt her control over her chakra waver.

There was a surge, and the bark splintered beneath her foot as she took another step. She vaulted away from the tree, landing on the ground in front of it. Standing, she brushed off her hands, throwing a smirk over her shoulder at Sasuke.

"That was awesome!" Naruto cheered, grabbing her shoulders and spinning her around. "How'd you do that?"

She laughed. "You have to concentrate your chakra in your feet! If you do it right, the chakra will kind of fill in the gaps when you step on the tree, and you'll stick to it. You just have to find the right balance of chakra, otherwise you won't stick."

He nodded attentively and stepped back, closing his eyes. His brow furrowed in concentration and Isa waited, watching as he opened his eyes. He backed up and took a running jump at the tree, landing on its trunk and making it three steps up before the bark splintered beneath his foot.

He landed beside her, his face slightly red, but he was grinning. "Did you see that?" He turned to her excitedly. "I can't do it as good as you, but I made it up like three steps!"

"See, it's not too bad. We just have to find the perfect balance and then we'll have it!" Isa said, smiling at him. He nodded, a determined look settling across his face. He stepped back to try again, and Isa moved back to her tree. Kakashi was standing nearby, watching them from over the top of his book.

Isa ignored him, letting her surroundings fade away until all she saw was the tree in front of her. She concentrated again, manipulating her chakra until she could feel it flowing in her feet. Another running jump and she landed on the tree, her feet propelling her up the side of the trunk. It took another three attempts before she stopped trying to actively control each minute thread of chakra in her feet, and another four attempts until it started to click.

By the time she stood on one of the low branches of the tree, she was breathing hard, red-faced and sweaty, but victorious. She stepped onto the trunk of the tree, letting her chakra flow freely through her feet. After the initial struggle to control it, it felt like freedom now, as easy as breathing.

 _'There's a balance there, but it's not about forcing it. It's fluid, I just need to let it flow. It's control without really being in control, I guess, in a funny way.'_

She walked down the side of the tree, smiling as she stepped onto flat ground. Sasuke was steps away from reaching the lowest branch on his tree, and Naruto lagged only slightly behind him. Isa flopped to the ground beside Kakashi, whose face was buried behind his book.

"I did it, Kakashi-sensei!" She announced, flicking her bangs away from her sweaty face. She shot him a proud grin as he lowered his book.

"Good job," he said. "Figures you'd be the first to get it. Your clan techniques rely heavily on good chakra control."

"So can I use this to convince my dad to start training me in the harder jutsus now?" She asked, snickering at the look of sudden concern on Kakashi's face.

"Uh, just don't tell him that I was involved in any of this, alright? I don't want your dad hunting me down because you've got it in your head to starting learning dangerous jutsus."

Isa snorted. "Please, my dad wouldn't hunt you down. He's too nice. He'd probably just make a disappointed face at you."

Kakashi chuckled, glancing at her skeptically. "You forget that your father's one of the most powerful members of the Intelligence Division. He's one of the few people in the village I wouldn't want to go up against."

She cast him a curious look. "Why? You're strong, aren't you, Kakashi-sensei?"

He shrugged. "I'm not that strong."

She sat up and turned to face him, cocking her head to one side as she regarded him. "I bet you're stronger than you look."

"Are you saying I look weak?" He asked, sounding unsure whether to be offended or not.

"Realistically, our team is probably the strongest out of the genin," she continued, ignoring him. "Team Ten is tough because of their teamwork, plus Ino will beat up anyone who gets in their way. I don't know Hinata or Shino very well, I know Kiba's good at fighting, but I think the three of them together are better suited for being sneaky. And then you have Sasuke, who was the strongest student at the Academy, and me, and I came in third in the Academy exams.

"And Naruto's clearly been underestimated if he can use the Shadow Clone Jutsu. I think he might have the most raw power out of all of use, honestly, even Sasuke. Our team is weird and we don't really get along, but we're still the strongest, power-wise." When she finished, Kakashi was looking at her with a mixture of fondness and resignation.

"You know you're way too smart, right? Shouldn't you be giggling over boys like other girls your age?" He said, laughing softly when she shot him a look of distaste.

"Boys are boring. I like thinking about things. I like figuring things out. When are you gonna start teaching us new jutsus?" She asked suddenly.

"Hmm. How long did the doctor say you need to take it easy?" He asked.

"Six weeks," she said, grumbling.

"How about we spend a couple weeks practicing new jutsus and then start back up with some D-ranks?" Kakashi suggested.

She groaned, pouting at him. "But D-ranks are boring!"

"I know they are, but I don't want to go back out there until you guys are ready. The last mission was a tough one, and no one's going to blame you if you need to take some time to yourself," he said gently.

She crossed her arms over her chest, ignoring the way her hands shook slightly, the flash of amber eyes in her memory. "I'm not gonna break. I'm strong, and we were trained for this. I'm not some useless little girl." She spat the words with more vitriol than she'd meant to, but Kakashi's gaze was steady, and he didn't so much as blink at the anger in her tone.

"I know you're strong," he said, and his voice was warm. "You said it yourself, you're part of the strongest team of genin in the entire village. But fear and sadness aren't a lack of strength, and no one has to be strong all the time. I'm not, your father's not, and even though they wouldn't admit it, Sasuke and Naruto aren't, either."

Isa didn't meet his gaze, staring down at the grass. "I just hate it when people look at me like I'm weak, like I'm some tiny fragile thing and I can't handle this on my own."

Kakashi huffed a breath of quiet laughter. "I used to be the same way. I hated it when people looked at me like that, with all that worry in their eyes. I didn't want their pity."

She sighed, and the tension left her shoulders. The anger seeped out of her, leaving her dull and tired. She scooted over to lean against the memorial stone beside Kakashi, rubbing her eyes. "How did you do it? How did you prove that you were strong enough?" She asked, looking up at him.

He rested his head against the memorial stone, his lone eye sad and thoughtful. "I didn't. That's the thing, no one else ever thought that I was weak. It was just me, I was the only person I could never convince." Isa looked away, jaw tightening as her eyes burned. She blinked rapidly, wiping viciously at a stray tear that trailed down one cheek.

"My point is," Kakashi continued. "I had to do it all by myself. I was alone. You don't have to be alone, Isa. If you need me, I'm here."

She took a deep breath, sniffling, and she turned to look at him. Her smile was shaky, and her eyes watery, but it was real. "I promise I'll come to you if I ever need anything."

He smiled at her, and his hand dropped to her head. He ruffled her hair affectionately and stood up. "Good. Chin up, you'll be okay."

She nodded, and he turned to walk away. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei?" She was almost never shy, but she sounded timid now. He paused, looking back over his shoulder. "Thank you."


End file.
